Temples of Angkor

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The temples of Angkor are located in what was once the capital of Cambodia's ancient Khmer empire. The sheer size and number of the temple remains is impressive, let alone imagining what they were like in their heyday. The Cambodian god-kings of old tried to outdo their predecessors in the construction of these religious buildings.

I spent the best part of three days scrambling over ruins, climbing up to the highest of accessible parts and then limbering down again (a steep, and precarious exercise!) to cover a wide range of these religious buildings. Day one was tiring as I covered some of the main ones. Days 2 and 3 took me into the countryside a bit more and I managed the very touristy elephant ride! Will bring home the photo!

Juxtasposing jungle and Jayavarmen ...

The king with the biggest ego, and probably also the one who provided a great deal for his subjects Jayavarman VII, created the most and the most impressive temples ... including Bayon with 216 faces of Avalokiteshvara which coincidentally resemble the king himself! See photo for one of these! The temples had a moat around them and housed priests, the royal family and the entourage of servants and other staff required. The also house a great deal of historical art with bas reliefs indicating stories of great battles as well as legends of the times.

The temples are nestled in jungle. Or at least they would be if there was no clearing for roads and access to the sites. However, in some temples the jungle has indeed taken hold. Ta Prohm is the temple most would recognise as probably one of the most photographed, entwined in jungle. The roots that wrap around the building also provide structural support for it in part.

There are many more photos than these attached, however the time to download and upload is not fast in these parts so I am providing a small sample only. A photographer's paradise, this is a place that could be revisited many times.

From here to Battambang by boat, and more cooking and more eating and more beer and more besides! BTW the beer here is Angkor or Anchor and one of them one an Australian beer award!

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