Our journey concluded in Siem Reap and surrounding areas, home to about 290 temples, all built between the 8th and 10th centuries. The rulers who built these vacillated between Hinduism and Buddhism, finally committing to Buddhism towards the end of the era. In the mid-1400's the people who lived and prayed in these temples abandoned them. Historians are not clear on the reasons why, but it appears that it may have been due to a combination of factors, including persistent invasions by various groups and inability to grow enough food to sustain the population. Restoration of the temples has been ongoing for many years, and mostly funded by international groups and NGO's.We visited 7 temples, a small fraction of the total
The entrance to our hotel, the Sofitel Angkor Pookeethra
Angkor Wat, largest temple in the world and jewel of Cambodia. The silhouette of this temple makes up the Cambodian national flag
Climbing up to the highest tower through a very steep stairway
Happy face shortly after we found a quiet corner on the highest tower and renewed our wedding vows
Remember, no electricity or power tools back then, all hand-carved. Angkor Wat took 35 years to build
Traditional dance show at the hotel
Thousands of elephants inhabited this area, but now only a handful survive and are used to give rides to tourists
Smiling Buddhas adorned this temple
Beautiful Cambodian children
The Sofitel proved to be an excellent hotel
Perhaps our favorite temple has been left wild, meaning the trees that engulfed this temple have not been touched. We toured the temple to the symphony of hundreds of song birds who populate the trees, whose gargantuan roots are everywhere
The oldest temple we visited, unique because of the reddish color of the stone
Mr Khet, our excellent Tour Director, born and raised in Siem Reap
Thousands of Cambodians were killed or maimed by land mines planted by the Khmer Rouge. Many of them have been taught to play traditional musical instruments. This group plays for donations at the exit of one of the temples
Cambodia is a very poor country. This is particularly evident in the rural areas. We stopped at this tiny agricultural village. Above is a traditional home on stilts with a one-large room and no walls, where several generations live
This beautiful Cambodian adolescent gladly posed for photos
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