Cambodia

Pretty Sunrise

Pretty Butterfly

Sarah is actually swinging over a 70' foot abyss.

Big fan of the giant roots. These trees destroy the temples when unwatched (they're otherwise too shy for temple destroying). These trees, called spung, are like 100' tall and they're everywhere. They're not good for fuel becasue they're too full of water and make too much smoke. They're also bad for building with.

Anyone see Gone with the Wind? I think this looks like the ending shot, but Sarah didn't think so.

People in Cambodia are always playing, working, fishing, scooping mud out of these moats and streams... Sometimes it is picturesque but it always looks like fun.

Yes, this is a real billboard. See the detail below.

I love the guy jumping from one world into the next. Still a little threatening looking to me -- a grown man lurching at kid's balloons. I'd have him locked up before I painted the picture of the new Cambodia.

Sarah and other celestial ladies

These temples are really awesome.

We met a couple of lone Korean travelers and shared a 4 hour bus and 3 hour cab ride with them. They told us how popular Angkor Wat was with the Koreans, chirping "package tour" everytime we were passed by a supersized tour bus (clean, tinted windows, painted to attract the monied and the tasteless). They nailed it. Though not always donning red hats, they were everywhere -- which is nice.

Cambodian ex-military ushered us, and about 30 other people, out of Angkor Wat 10 minutes before the sunset. We were perched at the tops of every West facing ledge when these guys started shooing us towards the exit which was really just meters away. It took them 20 minutes of following us around saying "hello? hello? close. hello?" before we even lined up at the top of the stairs. No wonder these guys could never win a war. JUST KIDDING! I love Cambodia!

I did eventually reach the top of this temple, a different shape, but I did get there. These steps are twice as steep as they look.

Cute? Yes. Vicious? That too, but SOOO cute and only a little vicious.

This is Aaron, Sarah, Chanty, Sarah and their oldest son John. Chanty was our tuk-tuk driver for two of our three days in Angkor Wat. (the last day we rode bicycles. BIG mistake! We missed you Chanty!) Anyway, after the second day, he invited us to their home where we watched a video on Angkor Wat, a Khmer comedian and had one of the best meals of our trip so far. This picture was taken after we introduced them to Indian food at Taj Mahal restaurant on our third and final night in Cambodia. (pictures of the real Taj Mahal forthcoming... May?)

Sarah in the temple of the ladies. Pink sandstone was used to build this shrine to women soldiers that helped win some ancient Khmer war that men soldiers failed at.

This river seriously had a bed of 40,000 carved penises called linga. The water that flowed over these penises was blessed, making this one of the holiest sites -- one that Hindus still make pilgrimages to today. Whoa!

Pretty Temple. can you spot Sarah's glasses?

So pretty.

Jungle Temple. Our favorite. $5 extra, but it was worth it to play Indiana Jones for a day and see what these temples looked like before they cleaned them all up.

Don't stand on western style toilet rims. In case you didn't understand the picture, or assume as much from the shape of the toilet, it is also written in Khmer on the sign for you.

It is good luck to give money to this woman after she prays with you. I have good luck now. I know you're jealous, but I promise to share when I get back.

So pretty!

Sarah and the lions at the entrance of Angkor Wat.

That's me! I know I blend in a little with the sculptures of God heads that line the path to Angkor Thom.

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