17 October 2007

Asia » Cambodia » North » Angkor
October 23rd 2007

Published: October 24th 2007

Finally, I'm starting to make some headway on the backlog of postings. My second bout with heat exhaustion on this day wore me out and I stopped worrying about trying to do everything (such as a daily blog) and concentrated on trying to make the most of the remainder of the trip. We've been staying at the Casa Angkor, a very nice, modern, hotel in the old part of Siem Reap. They have the best co... Read Full Entry

Photos are below

Photos: 42, Displayed: 21

Cam, Kendal, & Renee

We were happier than we looked, it was just very, very, hot........

Angkor_south library

They called these "libraries" but I'm not sure if it's used as we use it. I do know, that for whatever reason, they were remarkably cool and I felt a breeze there I felt no where else.

Angkor_southwest reflecting pool

This pool was originally designed to do just this, reflect the 5 towers. (I design to use photoshop to remove the chinese tourist....)

Angkor_southwest corner

Southwest corner entrance to main complex.

Angkor_stone lions

These guys at one time guarded every entrtance into Angkor. Many have been destroyed by time and the Khmer Rouge who saw no use for history.

Angkor epic_center

One of the more famous murals in Angkor, this is the center figure.

Angkor epic_left

Left section of mural.

Angkor epic_right

right side, I was absolutely amazed by the beatutiful carvings, not only in Angkor, but in all the ruins we visited. I guess its unfair to call them ruins, there are still active Buddhist shrines in almost all of them.

Angkor_Apsara_2

Angkor had it's fair share of beautifally carved Apsara dancers.

Angkor_Apsara_3

Every Apsara carving had detectable differences.

Angkor_Apsara Dancers

This was the most I saw in any single panel.

Angkor_chariots

The just didn't use elephants for battles, some armies had horses & chariots.

Angkor_chinese army

I'm not sure if these were foes or allies.

Angkor_crocodiles

Apparantly it wasn't a wise idea to go swimming in the rivers. There are other murals where the crocs seem to be enjoying a human snack......

Angkor_elephant entrance

Unlike the other west side entrances, this was for elephants as it had no steps to climb. If you look closely you can see machine gun bullet marks on the two main columns, this area was one of the last strongholds of the Khmer Rouge.

Angkor_elephants

Whats an ancient Khmer temple without elephant carvings?

Angkor_fight scene

The Angkorians (I.E. Khmers) are winning in this one. You can tell them by their eleongated earlobes.

Angkor_Jayavarman II

This is the guy/king/potentate/head honcho who was responsible for starting the majority of the building in the Angkor area.

Angkor_interior staircase

This staircase leads to the first of the two interior levels. The uppermost Level was closed for renovation.

Angkor_window frieze

In all the ruins, almost every square inch of available vertical space was covered in some sort of decorative carving. To the point of almost being overwhelming in it's detail, but beautiful and impressive nonetheless.

Angkor_west

West view across compound.

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17 October 2007

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