Angkor Wat - Cambodia

The main event - Angkor. Awesome!! This is one of those bucket list items I can cross off the list. We visited the park twice, one in the afternoon and a special trip at sunrise. There is so much to see it warrants another trip.

We walked along a dirt road and the temple slowly appeared from the jungle. It was pretty amazing to see in real life.

Angkor extends over approximately 400 square kilometers and consists of numerous temples, hydraulic structures (basins, dykes, reservoirs, canals) as well as communication routes. For several centuries Angkor was the center of the Khmer Kingdom. The park is inhabited and many of the residents’ ancestors date back to the Angkor period. The population practices agriculture and more specifically rice cultivation.

Yes, now that you ask, it was hot and we were dripping with sweat as we climbed the steep steps to the inner sanctum. There are a lot of intricate carvings on the walls telling many of the confusing Hindu stories.

The line of tourists to get to the top

Angkor Wat is not easy to photograph, it is gray and has little contrast. I processed in sepia black and white to bring out the details.

Sunrise

Sunset on the outer moat wall

We explored more of the complex Angkor Thom's Bayon temples where all the columns depict the faces of Buddha and Ta Prohm Temple which is becoming consumed by the jungle. After our full day of exploration of the Angkor complex we sat on a wall of the inner moat at Angkor Wat and watched the sunset. Mark and Jack (our guides) provided buffalo and snake jerky along with the local Angkor beer as we reflected on the day.

Bayon

Bayon

Bayon, with the fisheye :)

Bayon

Bayon

Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm