21 November
Vice President U Henry Van Thio, who was on an official visit to Cambodia, yesterday visited Bayon, Ta Prohm and Angkor Wat temples in Siem Reap, and observed the cultural heritage, architectures and local tourism businesses.
The Vice President and party arrived in Siem Reap from Phnom Penh at 9:30am local time and were welcomed by Deputy Governor of Siem Reap Province Mr Pith Prakort and officials at the Siem Reap International Airport.
Afterwards, the Vice President and party visited the Bayon Temple and observed the sculptures, ancient architectures and the status of tourist arrivals at the temple.
The Vice President and party then visited the Ta Prohm Temple which was built in the style of late 12th and early 13th centuries, and observed the ancient structures, architectures and ancient cultural designs including the natural preservation of the ancient buildings being covered with perennial trees and the archaeological research methods for long-term preservation of the buildings.
The delegation led by Vice President then visited the Angkor Wat Temple and viewed the ancient Buddha images, carving arts, sculptural arts and ancient architectures.
The Angkor Wat Temple was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century on a site measuring 402 acres with the use of about 10 million sand stones each weighing 1.5tons.
The Angkor Wat which took about 30 years to construct is the largest monument in the region, and the UNESCO listed this site as a World Heritage site in 1992.
About 2.6 million tourists visited the Angkor Wat site annually and local residents are cooperating in preservation works to attract up to 5 million tourists in the future.
In the evening, the Vice President arrived at the Myanmar Embassy in Cambodia where he met with the Myanmar Ambassador to Cambodia, Myanmar Military Attaché, and staff from Myanmar Embassy and Military Attaché’s Office and presented gifts to them.
Afterwards, the Vice President attended a dinner hosted by the Myanmar Ambassador. —MNA
(Translated by Kyaw Zin Tun)
