Cambodia

[This is a work in progress]

(Entrance to the South gate of Angkor Thom)

Cambodia was breathtaking.  It has taken me several months to sit down an write about the experience as it is difficult to capture something so unfathomably tragic and incredibly beautiful at the same time. 

As I am sure this blog entry will be as epic as the Vietnam entry below, I will start with a few of the photos I like and then go on the explain them later as I go.  

After flying in from Viet Nam, the service and accommodations seem to exponentially improve.  We stayed in a small wooden villa just outside the entrance to Angor Thom called "La Villa Loti".  One of the best things we did was to sign up for a driver and a tour guide with the pass to the sights.  

The first site we went to was of Angkor Thom.  As you approach Angkor Thom, there is a bridge that takes you to the South gate.  (See above photo)  As with all ruins in Cambodia, the mix of history craved in rock and the lush greenery seem to feed off one another resulting in a powerful, mysterious force that overwhelms you as you enter the ruins.  

The south gate in 20 meters high and is adorned with the great stone face of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.  In front of each gate was a bridge adorned with statues of the 54 gods illustrating the churning of the seal of milk, which I will get to shortly.  

The sheer size of the carvings is remarkable and you can't but help think of the people who had to schlep these rocks here and carve them for King Jayavaraman VII (r 1181-219.  The city at it's high was 10 square kilometers and is said to have contained over a million people.  

One of the first things you notice about Angkor Thom is the heads that are carved with such fantastic expressions. 

Here

   

There were so many different expressions, each with it's own distinct character. 

And there were just so many of them

But it wasn't just the huge head carvings, it was the detailed stories that were carved into ever face of every rock.  Everything from the histories of wars and victories of celestial battles and battles on earth to daily routines. The central ruin Bayon included 1.2 Kilometers of bas-reliefs and more than 11,000 figures. 

  

Not to mention the groovy celestial dancer of which there were thousands

And my favorite of the celestial dancers, with her head slightly shifted to the left with time as if to say, "No, you aint!" 

Below is  a picture of our Tour guide. As I mentioned earlier, signing up for a guide was one of the smarter things we did.

At each place he told the stories of the ruins not as a memorized speech, but more as relating a history he was a part of, something he was proud of.  To show such spectacular ruins to so many tourist who have seen so much,  and seen the reaction of awe, I can only imagine, he must be proud.  There is such a strong sense standing near these carved stones that the force that created them.

(A buddha in Angkor wat)

Above,  Kaori and I are in front of the heads covered into Angkor Thom.