The Grandeur of Angkor Wat.

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Angkor Wat is the largest temple complex in the world and a UNESCO Heritage site. It truley is massive. You could spend days walking around it but we only had one day left so we decided to do some of it by hot air balloon.

The Angkor Wat temple is the most famous and gives it's name to the entire complex of over 100 temples built over 400 years between 800 and 1200 AD. So there was no way to see all of them in one day. I saw only the best 5 temples, Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm and 2 smaller ones.

It was inspiring but the huge numbers of tourists took away from the ambiance. Mea culpa.

Our time is quickly coming to end and we're off to Bangkok and Istanbul.

Later.

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Photos

Face of Angkor Wat
Because of the size of Angkor Wat, there were hundreds of people living in villages around the wats. Most of them sold souvenirs or owned restaurants. But the children got to play in the most bizarre playground in the world.

Peace Out.
All monks are peaceful by nature but this one took it to the max.

Angkor Wat
Fabulous temples that are rapidly decaying, thousands of tourists crawling over the buildings scratching their names in the stone. Angkor Wat was both inspiring and disenchanting at the same time.

Temples and Tombs
Not quite a cross between Indiana Jones and Lara Croft but it was quite exciting wandering through what was left of the wats.

Bayon
The Bayon temple was my favourite part of the complex. With it's haunting faces and the fact that there were far fewer people there, gave it an eerie quality.

Roots
The trees that washed over the walls and roofs of the temples, splaying their roots over age old edifices made me think that our time here is just a blink.

The Critic
Being dissed by a pregnant monkey was probably the low point in my day.

How Long Would That Take?
It must be a long time.

More of the Haunting Faces.
I don't know what drew me to the huge faces at the Bayon Wat. I just know that they were unforgettable.

It Just Doesn't Look Real.
I can't get over how strange the temples looked with those trees enveloping them. Oh well, had to be there I guess.

Angkor Wat From Above.
Taking a balloon ride high above the temples made me realise how beautiful the building was. This was a view that the builders never saw, pity.

Up, Up and Away....
in my fairly nice balloon. Not quite as romantic as we'd hoped what with the cage and all.