We spent two days touring the vast Angkor Wat temple complex...below are the photos, split out by temple as best
as possible.
(Chelsea took a large chunk of these photos, as I was busy taking bad pictures with my real cameras.)
Angkor Wat
The main temple everyone comes here for, but it's really only the tip of the iceberg.
The famous skyline, complete with a fat obnoxious tourist.
We saw a monkey scrambling around on this particular part of the ruins, but I somehow managed not to get a
photo. In fact, despite seeing a lot of monkeys I didn't get snaps of any of them.
You have the chance to have your photo taken with a decorative horse while at Angkor Wat. I'm guessing it was
probably some sort of Khmer tradition.
When I look at this picture I like to think I'm the second coming of Dennis Hopper's character from "Apocolypse Now".
Seriously? You're at one of the most historic sites in the entire world, and you brought a book of sudoku puzzles to
work through? I wish I had two more hands so I could give this four thumbs down.
One of my favorite carvings in the whole place.
Thought this was interesting, a wall relief carving that was started but never finished.
Angkor Thom
Angkor Thom is not one temple but rather a collection of temples set within a huge set of walls.
...And you can catch an elephant ride to get there.
The first set of ruins we stopped at in Angkor Thom was Bayon.
Winner of the "Best Flame Haircut Found in a National Park" award.
A bunch of building blocks waiting to be reassembled. It's like the most biggerest giantest set of Legos ever.
It's a terrace covered in elephant carvings...named Terrace of Elephants.
After seeing the elephants we stopped at the nearby food stands for lunch with our good friend temple dog.
Ta Keo
This was one of my very favorite temples of the whole place...one of the tallest in the park - what it lacks in decoration
it makes up for in height.
Oh no Mr. Bill!
It was a steep climb - Chelsea was not feeling it.
I climbed to the top but you can see where Chelsea turned around.
Ta Prohm
After Angkor Wat, the most famous temple in the park...the jungle has begun taking this one over, leading to a lot of
interesting formations where nature meets rock.
Temple dog #2 was there to greet us. Such hospitable dogs this lot.
The trees look like they were just poured out of a glass onto the walls and buildings of the temple.
This tree tried to eat Chelsea. True story.
Pre Rup
This is the start of the second day of the temples...while the first day was the big stars, the second day was a lot of
lesser temples. What they lacked in grandeur they made up for in being less crowded and a more enjoyable viewing
experience.
On our way to the temples of the day we passed the reservoir of Sra Srang.
I found the stone turned window bars fascinating for some reason, hence how many damn photos we took of them.
Chelsea pretending to be...uh, one of those people who does this sort of thing. I think they are called yoga teachers?
Someone better prepare herself for a flying suplex off the top rope...
Banteay Samre
It was a bit of a drive out to this temple, passing through a few villages...
Good god it was hot out at this temple, so hot the statue got the hell out of there and didn't even take his feet with him.
East Mebon
Before you ask, we didn't go to West Mebon. Once upon a time, this temple would have been an island in the middle
of a huge reservoir.
We didn't get near the real elephants, so this will have to do.
Ta Som
Just north of East Mebon...a little similar to Ta Prohm on a smaller scale.
Prasat Krol Ko
This small temple was just a little bit off the beaten path...we were the only ones there which made it seem a little cooler.
Neak Pean
A pretty unspectacular spot in the dry season, but apparently quite a sight during the wet season when the pools are
full of water.
Prah Khan
The final temple of our trip...this thing had more chambers than an...uh...Chambers family reunion?
A photo of me taking a photo. I think this sort of thing creates a wormhole if you do it too often.
An unusual building in Angkor Wat - a two story building (though the floor is no longer there).
Look at that tree root!!! Too Crazy.
Coming up in the final part...the floating village of Chong Kneas and the beaches of Sihanoukville.