Angkor Wat at sunrise.
The mesmerizing lure of the Angkor Wat temples can in large part be attributed to the atmospheric interplay between tropical forest and ruins; it is the reality of an otherworldly realm imagined for a fantasy. Thus it was on my first visit, and so it remained for my second one ten years later.
According to my guidebook, Angkor Wat is the largest religious building in the world, and the surrounding forest holds the highest concentration of temples in the world. For over 500 years, Angkor dominated the political and cultural affairs of much of Southeast Asia as the Khmer Empire expanded into Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. By the fifteenth century, however, the trappings of its glory and grandeur had surrendered to an ever-resilient jungle, and, at least from the world's view, it largely disappeared until the late 1800s.
On this second visit I saw more of the temple ruins than I did before. In fact, Cindy and I had our own driver and official guide. Consequently, I learned more stuff, too. However, I shan't elucidate here; I'll post photos instead.
Evelyn, nose to nose, courtesy of our guide...who knew all the photo ops.
Cindy, nose to nose.
Although I have no idea who these people are, I could not resist taking this shot.
Next we have Ta Prohm, a temple used in one of the Indiana Jones movies and also for a Tomb Raider one.
Here are the steps to one of the towers of Angkor Wat; they are steep and very narrow--only part of your foot fits on a step.
Many of the temples had make-shift Buddhist shrines.
I loved the carved bas-reliefs. Many of them told stories--Buddhist, Hindu, and historical.
These are Angkor Wat's famous apsara dancers.
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