If
I am ever asked about my idea of a perfect travel plan, I am sure to
answer in the negative, if the choice is of just lazying in the sun or
in the five star comfort of a hotel. I do love beaches but spending a
day there, relaxing on the beach, would be the longest, I would opt for.
Any extended holiday on a beach or in a five or four star resort,
would not enthuse me at all. Someone mentioned recently to me that I
love to visit temples. Well! That is true to an extent. I do love to
visit temples, but to qualify for my visit, it has to be at least 500
years old and preferably in ruins and without an idol. However, visiting
old temples, is not my only choice. I also love to visit museums and
old ruins. Here are some of my top favourites.
If
anyone opts for a holiday in east Asia, the temple ruins of Siem
Reap, Cambodia, are the most visit worthy temple ruins on earth,
according to me. There are number of temples here, but the best from
the angle of fine workmanship, is undoubtedly the smallest temple of
the lot, Banteay Strei. I have never seen before, such exquisite and
dainty carvings on stone. The bass reliefs at other places are carved in
such way that a two dimensional picture materializes in your front. In
Angkor Wat temple for example, some of the bass reliefs, have three or
even four depth levels, to make carvings appear more realistic.
However, the carvings in Banteay Strei are almost three dimensional. A
flower or a sea shell, appears as if the real thing has been pasted on
the stone. In this temple ruin, lintels on the doors and the windows,
each tell a story from Hindu mythological scriptures. Since I had read
most of the stories in the past, it was fun for me to see the carvings
in details. However a person unknown to Hindu Mythological stories, can
easily follow them from excellent guide books available.
Going to the west and beyond the Arabian sea, a treasure world of ruins opens if one opts for Red Sea Holidays.
In addition to a huge variety of historical treasures such as the
Sphinx, the iconic Pyramids of Giza, which can be seen with Cairo as
your base, there are stunning beach resorts for a lazy day in the sun.
Sharm el Sheikh beach resort offers a perfect base for scuba diving
enthusiasts, who want to explore aquatic treasures of red sea. Other
beach resorts which are popular are at Taba and Hurghada. The icing on
the cake for an Egypt holiday however, at least according to me, is the
Egyptian museum at Cairo. With over 120000 artifacts in stock, this
museum is a treasure house for people interested in history. You can see
here King Tutankhamen's Golden Mask, and Ramses' mummy on display in
only one place.
Talking
of museums, the best and perhaps the most accessible museum in India,
is New Delhi's National Museum. The ancient civilizations wing on the
ground floor is a wonder world of ancient Indian history. Small statues,
clay toys, ornaments and personal effects from a period of 3000BC to
1500BC from the Indus valley sites such as Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa,
Dholavira and Lothal are well displayed here.
What
surprised me very much that many present day things of daily use have
their origins here. Even the humble bullock cart used by farmers in
rural India has a design today. Which is very similar to the one used
by Indus valley civilization people. There are two more museums in the
Indian subcontinent, which I can never hope to see. One is in Lahore and
other in Peshawar. Both these museums have great frescos and panels
from Gandhar era.
Coming
down to south India, the ruins at Hampi are perhaps the best in India.
From fourteenth to sixteenth century AD, Vijayanagara kings had created,
some of the most wonderful temples here. Hazari Ram temple and Vitthala
temple,which is without doubt the best, still stands here with all the
glory of the past. My holiday at Hampi was so memorable that I shall
cherish it for my life.
I
always find a visit to such old temple ruins or to a museum deeply
satisfying. To learn about history is actually to learn about our past
follies and mistakes. I think that if everyone decides to learn from
history and vows not to repeat the misdeeds, the world can be a far
safer and happier place.
28 January 2012
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