Bathing Optional

Cambodia : a week in April 2003

Continents

Continents

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Our first glimpse of Cambodia and its peoples were these ladies selling whatever they could right at the border crossing from Thailand.
Once we crossed the border into Cambodia this girl with baby (hers?) approached us for change.
Once we got settled in Siem Reap the first thing we did is rent a scooter so that we could check out the countryside beyond Angkor.
Far from the busy town of Siem Reap we found wonderful villages lining the dirt road we rode on.
Local children ran out to greet us everywhere we passed.
More local kids.
More local kids we ran into while motoring around the countryside.
Boys by a stream.
Great home and family pet.
Ashe with some village kids.
Village man with baby.
Local family under their yard tree.
Another group of local village children. At every village they would come running to greet us and then sort of shy away.
More kids.
Future jungle guide. What a cute little guy!
Mother and daughter.
While riding the dusty roads far beyond Siem Reap we also came across and old temple building or two. This was one of the better preserved Hindu shrines we saw.
Temple entrance.
Hindu temple towers.
Another angle of the Hindu temple.
Beggar girl and child at the temple.
Old lady at the temple.
Temple statue.
This bridge was the approach to the second of the distant temples we visited that day on our motorcycle.
The bridge railing was designed to play out a scene called milking the serpent from an important mythical tale.
Ancient building believed to once have been a library.
Tunnel of doorways.
Heading back to the town of Siem Reap and the more central collection of temple ruins we passed through one of the faced gates that mark the citys ancient borders.
Our motorcycle wasnt problem-free, though. We had to stop to get the tire changed roadside one time.
Old temple entrance hidden in the trees.
One of the sights that the Angkor Wat region is most famous for: trees growing literally within and on top of ancient temple walls.
More trees overtaking temple grounds.
Apparently this old man spends his entire days at this one temple site. We took this photo of him, then, months later, found that another Trekshare member had a photo of the SAME man at the same temple, and, even more recently, spotted the same old man on the cover of the Lonely Planet Cambodia guide!
A more dramatic view of how the trees have overtaken some of the ancient temple sites.
Temple windows and figure.
These trees are quite photogenic and add to the mystery of many of Angkors temples, but they are a nuisance for preservationists and archaeologists.
Tree rooted on temple wall.
A more dramatic image.
Couldnt get enough of these trees.
The Hindu style is very apparent in most of Angkors temple buildings. Hard to believe these buildings are almost 1000 years old.
Final look at the trees...
Braiding hair.
Taking a nap.
Ashe in what seems to be an endless tunnel of porticos.
Few of Angkors temples actually have temple objects inside but this one did.
View up to the open ceiling inside the temple.
Maciej doing his best mime act.
Driving around the huge area that the Angkor region comprises we were able to visit temple after temple, many as grand and and well-preserved as this.
Another semi-remote temple building.
And another.
Another temple site. The green pits were once flooded with water making for a beautiful water temple.
Maciej by one of Angkors reservoirs/marshes.
Temple elephant.
Another one of those great faced gates.
And another look at locals passing through one of the larger faced gates marking the ancient city borders.
View down from one of the pyramid-like temple buildings.
More guardians at a temple entrance.
Once again, temple guardians.
Another look down from a temple peak.
Beyond the borders of each ancient temple is jungle. Until this century, the ancient city of Angkor lay covered in jungle and hidden from the outside world for centuries. Since then, the ruins have been uncovered, jungles cut back, and treasures exposed.
All ruins at Angkor are covered with amazing reliefs and carvings. Stone carving is definitely something the ancient Khmers excelled at.
More carvings.
Great carving that has suffered a little by the hand of time (although if I still looked that good at 1000 years old, Id be happy).
One of my favorite reliefs: a dancing figure.
Many of the temple buildings lay in ruins before they were re-stacked, brick by brick.
Another example of the fine carvings which adorn all of Angkors many temple buildings.
And another.
Temple figures.
Another temple figure.
Ashe liked this image of a lady combing her hair.
More temple ladies.
One last temple relief.
Recognizable Hindu towers.
One of Angkors greats and in the center of the ancient city walls: the temple of Bayon, covered in giant face images.
Ashe greeting the Buddha image at the entrance to Bayon.
Bayon faces.
Ashe in Bayon doorway with faces beyond.
Bayon faces.
A closer look at Bayons faces.
Bayon face from inside.
Finally, Angkors most famous site, and the name people most often associate with the entire region : Angkor Wat, one of the better-preserved and most grand ancient Hindu temples in all of Asia.
Little girl.
One of many entries into Angkor Wat.
One of the buildings on the grounds of Angkor Wat.
Buddha image on Angkor Wats walls.
Battle scene depicted on Angkor Wats walls.
Images on Angkor Wats walls.
Steep staircases lead up to Angkor Wats towers.
Monk taking in the scene from up high.
One of the Wats towers.
Beyond the Wats walls, more jungle. One of my favorite scenes in Angkor.
For the sunset we drove out to another of the temples a little further from town and were quickly accosted, as is always the case, by the local kids.
One of the stupas at our sunset temple.
Us at the sunset temple.
A monk we met there for the sunset like us.
We climbed up the main stupa and to get our prime seats for the sunset and Ashe even got her hair done.
Couple monks taking in the sunset.
Local kids.
Another monk.
A parting shot -- goodbye Cambodia!

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