Two things I learned mid-way through my tour of 'Nam: 1) Hoi An is probably one of the most beautiful cities in all of the country. 2) Getting there via a Camel line night-bus from Nha Trang is not such a great idea. Earlier, I wrote about how efficient and stress-free the Fula/ Pula buses were. On this journey, I met their bizarro world counterparts, the Camel bus line (or to use their full name, the "You'd wish you ridden a camel instead bus line"). Not to get into all the nasty details, because #1 is the memory I am taking away from all this, but the bus was filthy and smelled like feet. For 13 hours, the driver was reckless, even by regional standards. And they crowded the aisles with local villagers sleeping on the floor, making it impossible to reach the (possibly working) bathroom. Not that this mattered, I guess, since I woke up to find- first thing in the morning- a toddler with his penis in a water bottle and a group of women making "ssssss...
This is the Temple of the Masks at Kabah . It is a Mayan archaeological site located in the Yucatan peninsula... and is considered one of the greatest examples of Puuc-style architecture. The god represented here is Chaac, the rain god, who was highly revered in this drought-prone part of the country. This is the rear of the same building, decorated in a later style, possibly after the arrival of the Toltecs. The Toltecs were known as a more militaristic society, something reflected in the warrior statuary that appears here. Many of the people in the smaller rural villages still speak Mayan . This is the Pyramid of the Magician at Uxmal... It is unusual in that its base is oval in shape and not square or rectangular. One of the buildings in the Nunnery Quadrangle (so named by Spaniards who were reminded of nunneries back home). More representations of the god Chaac. Representation of snakes, representing rebirth, are prevalent throughout Mayan culture. This ball court, second ...
Coll! it really looks like littel magic has been done ;-))M a g i c is in the air!!
ReplyDeleteGee! Thanks for the endorsement :)
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