Here are a few more shots from Ta Prom the tomb raider temple.

The tree roots are takiong over.
Its nice to look around and notice the details off the beaten path. Like this little statue.

The tree roots are creepy...like a horror movie...walking here on a stormy night would be a total mental test....hmmm.

These pictures are still from Angkor Wat.

I spoke to this little guys mother and she encouraged him to look my way.

Here is the main mountain temple in the center of Angkor Wat.
An empty hallway with echoes of silence screaming quietly.

These are from Ta Prom (this is the temple from the Tomb Raider movies).

This is a picture of one of many trees in this complex that are taking over the temple. Slowly year after year.


A face...one of many holding the Naga (serpent creature) at the entrances.

A few pictures from inner Angkor Wat.

This is an inner bathing pool for the royalty.


Another shot with a boy in the background taking it easy.

The temperature was quite hot and it was midday so many people had gone back into town to escape the heat.
These are window collonettes....basically its a window decoration. But these are different because of the different color. I have no idea if that is significant or not.

A few shots I took upon entering the legendary Angkor Wat.

If you have been here you may wonder how I was able to get these without the hordes of people. The answer is a lot of patience and 2 pm. When many tour buses go back to town for lunch and a break I was here waiting for a clear view.

The sun is directly overhead, everyone is resting. I was melting as was my camera. The heat was causing all sorts of issues. (Although I didn't know it was from the heat at the time.)

From the main walkway to the main temple.


Just before walking into the temple this was to the right, kind of below the main entrance.

Another shot straight on from the walk way. A worm's eye view.

This is a library, one of two in the Angkor Wat complex. Angkor is in the doorway.

Day two milling around Angkor Wat trying the impossible to get pictures without tourists.


Pre Rup in b/w

The end of a long day. I went to Pre Rup a less populated sunset location. The sunset was pretty much a wash, but I still managed to get some usable shots.

I like the unusual angles and less popularly photographed areas of the temples.
This one I like as it made me think of the lion howling at the sky. However looking more closely the style of carving is such that the lions face is both very flat and in this case partially missing.

The atmosphere while I took this shot was changing very fast as the sun was dropping out of the sky. I had to really force my self to stop and think clearly and choose my subjects carefully because I knew I only had a few minutes left for the day.

This is from Preah Ko earlier in the day. Its part of the Rolous group, known for the some very beautiful early carvings.

As you can see in the foreground the ruins are often walked upon. In many cases the carvings have fallen or are in a position where they must be touched. I felt really bad walking on ancient carvings to get to the other sides, but had no choice as they were often laid as stepping stones to other parts.
This one was one of my most memorable moments. I had finished checking out Preah Ko, and was walking away when a little girl and her mom came up. Her mom worked for the APSARA Authority (the company looking after the temples).

I waited around because I knew something was going to happen. I waited for around 7 minutes standing way back so as not to be noticed. No one else was around this temple. The little girl walked up to the temple opening bend way over looking in all around and up to the top. Then took a big breath and screamed.

A few bats raced out of the opening lest they die from the sound waves. Then the girl laughed and giggled for a couple of minutes as though she knew very well the havoc she caused for the bats.
Shortly after she started playing with her echo with all sorts of whoops, bleeps, and acks.

My first trip to a floating village was an interesting one. The local guy I hired as my guide found a 'boat driver' who offered to take me on a personal tour of a village called Kampong Phluk. Not many tourists ever go to this village, especially in the dry season. Now I know why.

The tuk tuk turned off the paved road onto a dirt road. We drove for quite a while and the road and houses got more um 'rustic'. The road deteriorated into a narrow bumpy path to an oxcart path and finally after enough bone jarring we stopped.

Tuk tuk (pronounced took took)

I looked around for the boats. Hmm no boats. No no we need to take a moto ride to the boat, its too bumpy for the tuk tuk. Well I've come this far, so with a back pack, and full waist pack of camera gear I hop onto the moto with the boat driver. Looking at the boat driver I though well your sure gonna earn your money the hard way driving me and you on this motorbike. I know what its like doubling people, and I have a very good idea what its like to double me....It was hard earned money.

Good part of the road.

We took off and the dirt track got worse, it turned into loose sand with big bumps, like speed humps that turned into holes which we drove into and out of. After 20 minutes they hardened up and became a road so impassable that no 4x4 could ever make it there.

At one point about 45 minutes of death defying driving my driver was sure something had broken.

Moto and Boat Driver (note 1 helmet, not for me)

After an hour!! The 'road-of-no-bone-unjarred' ended in a swampy mess. We got off and he parked his moto in the trees. Then looking the other way through the trees I saw the nose of a boat. Scrambling onto it, I then maneuvered over 5 or 6 more till the last one was in enough water that it could float.

We took off down the swamps and shortly made it to the Floating Village.
The village is partially floating and partially on stilts.

The people smiled and waved. Some stared, and others went about their business.

Laundry

Bath time

I noticed a couple of people bathing this way, fully clothed and just washing in the muddy water.

Kids jumping into the water.

Many places you go the kids are running around au naturel. Seems quite common, yet boys will be boys.

On my way back out of the temple grounds I gazed at the Naga. Its a mythical creature, basically a multi-headed snake/dragonish thing used to protect the temple.

Surrounding this and many temples is a moat. This one still holds water and gives a nice reflection.


On our way to the next temple we needed to make a stop.

Yup you guessed it we needed gas. This is a typical local gas station. There are a couple regular ones too, but these are specifically for motorcycles. Its a lower quality gas imported from Thailand, sold per 1 Liter Johnnie Walker Red/Black Label bottles. Some use glass Pepsi bottles, but only is they don't have enough Johnnie Walker.

This one has an umbrella but most are out in the open everyday in the hot sun just waiting for a stray cigarette or lightning strike to cause havoc.

1 temple down on the first day...no bones broken. I'm happy!

We continued on to the next temple Preah Ko. More on it coming soon.

More from the same temple. Actually ist a temple mountain or the city of Hariharalaya.

This is a Prasat, which is a tower structure common on many temples which represents/is a cosmic/holy mountain where the Gods live. It is a central focal point. While some temples have only one, others may have many prasats.

In Bakong there are a total of 27 Prasats of various sizes locations heights with one main one on the top center of the complex.

From here every things was laid out in a very orderly symmetrical manner.

Bakong was one of the first complexes to be built. It was built in 881.

From the top level, I looked at the carvings. They are remarkably detailed. With the sky lighting up just after the sunrise the contrast from redish rock and blue sky made for some eye candy.
A little while earlier while the sunrise was just about to come through the clouds. I had an eerie feeling about the place. A place with so much history, that has seen millions of people.

It was obviously built with a tremendous amount of effort and by people with an extremely strong conviction. Worshiped in by kings of vast kingdoms, with followers that saw the kings themselves as godly beings.

Now some time later I, alone, am standing on the top of this monument pondering its existance, its previous glory and waiting for the sun to rise again just like it has every 24 hours since the days of King Indravarman I.

Back from the 'Kingdom of Wonder' -  Cambodia.

I will be going through my pictures from there over the next few weeks.  

60 Gb's over 12000 pictures. As I work on them I'll put them up.  

There are some really great ones in the pile.

Here is the first picture I took in Cambodia.  It was at a Temple called Bakong.  It is outside of the main Angkor Wat area and usually requires a special tour.  I hired a tuk tuk driver for the day and got him to pick me up for sunrise and drive out to this temple.  As I pul

led up one lone boy was on a too-big-for-him bike and on his way to school.

As you can see there are no people.  I had the temple to myself.  Peaceful quiet.

I slowly climbed up the steps.  The steps are very steep, slightly slanted downward, and lightly dusted with sand making them extremely slippery. 

 I immediatly remembered one girl I saw the evening before.  She was bandaged from head to toe...or so it looked.  She had crutches, a wrapped ankle, bandages on her knee, wrist, elbows, nose, forehead, chin, and looked generally in a lot of pain.  And vividly remember her saying "This sucks." 

I thought "Note to self: Be VERY careful! Everyday! Every step! Everywhere!"