Angkor Picture Mania....

okay so there are just to many good ones to pic through so here is just a page of favs!

Tomb Raider

yep this was the inspiration and film location for parts of the Tomb Raider movie…..actually called Preah Kahn. Such fantastic imagery, the ruins are dazzlingly marvelous. The jungle is slowly taking over and it is like catching the battle in midstride with roots and trees toppling giant stones over the centuries. The complex was huge and I wandered for hours, I never imagined there were so many shades of green!

Bayon

Bayon is one of the most magnificent temples. It is 3 levels the bottom being especially creepy with narrow corridors and the faint sounds of rats scurrying in the dark but when you look up you see giant faces watching you. There are over 300 giant faces staring down from all directions! When you climb to the top level you are almost as high as the face towers but the don’t lose any of their dynamism. The face is supposedly a conglomeration of the king who built the temple (Jayavarman VII)and a Buddha face. A peaceful enormous face with a hint of all knowing smile. I can only guess how creepy it could be at night in the moonlight ;P! And what must the citizens of Angkor felt about being surrounded by the face of their king constantly watching from all directions…

Angkor Wat part 1 continued

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Angkor Wat day 1

Wonder of the world in Cambodia, check :D ! I am so excited, I just began exploring the magnificent structures of what was once a city of over a million people.....this when London was a backwater of 30,000 or so, WOW! As I walk through the temples and buildings and enormous gates and bridges I imagine how it must have looked a thousand years ago. Banners, paint, silk and fabric, people, furniture... My imagination runs wild.

I know the pics don't do justice but I took a gazillion of them anyway.......let thine eyes feast.

Road to Seim Reap...

Well make that 32 hours in transit, haha. The guidebooks are not exaggerating when they say the road from the border to Seim Reap is in terrible shape. The road was really just a dirt track full of ruts and rocks and washed out in some places. The bus broke down not once but twice! Haha. It was a grueling and slow and sitting in the back of the overcrowded bus was like a 7 hour ride on a crappy ancient old wooden roller coaster that never stops bumping and rattling. I was most definitely the worst transport I have experienced in all of Asia and interesting to note is an item I read saying that an “unnamed” Airline is actually paying to keep the progress halted so the only comfortable way in to the country is by plane!

Cambodia

So my plans are set, off to the next destination, Cambodia. It is funny to note that although it took me 27 hours to travel to Thailand from Austin TX (the other side of the planet) it will take me 30 hours to get to Siem Reap Cambodia, which is the next country over! I’ve got music, books, tickets and even homemade trail mix for the journey :) Lorena, Mike and I are on the same bus and Miriam left 1 day ahead of us...... Rainy season is fast approaching, it is sunny today but rained almost every day last week and supposedly November is it, Monsoon month. Don’t really wanna stick around for that, and since the rainy season is ending up north I shall follow the wet weathers tail and return in December for the high season again. I am ready and excited for a new background again and the highlight will be seeing Angkor Wat which I have been looking forward to!