The Apocalyptic Ruins of Angkor in Cambodia, Part I

We leave Osaka and Japan, travel through rainy Vietnam, and enter the kingdom of Cambodia.  Who would have thought that Cambodia in July would be hot?  Well, it is.  Luckily, even though it is rainy season, the raining has been kept to a minimum.  On Wednesday morning, we get our Tuk Tuk driver and head to the vast Angkor Wat complex.  Angkor Wat is a series of extravagant buddhist temples and palaces, built by a civilization that has long since vanished.  The whole area is about the size of Manhattan and has innumerable ancient temples, ruins, etc. 

Side view of Angkor Wat.  Two of the five towers are visible.

View walking into Angkor Wat.

The temple of Angkor Wat is the crown jewel of the whole complex.  It is the tallest and most well preserved temple in the area.   It was nice, but the real charm of Angkor is the immense amount of surrounding temples as we would soon discover.

This may very well be the next president of Cambodia

As we were leaving Angkor Wat there was a huge gathering with some kindof scary music and shouting going on.  We had just been warned by the US consulate to stay away from large groups in Cambodia as there is a very heated election going on.  Unfortunately, we had to pass by this group just to get out.  Once in the frey, we realized it really wasn't such a big deal.  Also, our tuk-tuk driver is voting for him so he can't be that bad.

Please notice Gollum hiding hiding in the stone

The local children get to use all of Angkor as their play ground.  We found these cuties in a temple alley.  Sondra then forcibly adopted them gave them a banana.  Very cute.

I love the sculpture behind Sondra.  It's either looking in disdain or thinking "not bad."

The city contained within a huge gate is known as Angkor Thom.  In it hides the Bayon as well as some other temple ruins.  This picture of Sondra is just one of the hundreds of sculptures guarding the four entrances.

The Bayon

The Bayon is older than Angkor Wat and in more of a ruin.  It is still in good enough shape to see the thousands of Buddha heads staring down at you.  Creepy and Beautiful.  It was one of our favorites.

The many faces of the Bayon

Beautifully intricate carvings in the limestone.  Some have survived the years wonderfully.

After we visit the Bayon, we move forward to Ta Prohm.  This temple is basically in ruins but has made a name for itself in the strangler fig trees that live on it's ruins.  This temple has also been seen by many westerners who watched the movie "Tomb Raider."  To some people that means the most historically significant fact of this temple is that Angelina Jolie once visited.  When walking around the majesty of this temple, I couldn't help but think how amazing it would be to go back in time, visit this temple at the peak of its importance, and actually see Angelina Jolie.  If only.

A strangler fig growing from the top of the temple.  These trees are massive.

Sondra and I get a quick snapshot under a tree.

It was a magical day.  The amazing this is that there are many more temples to explore.  Next post:  Angkor Part II.