January 31, February 1

Cambodia, Angkor Wat

Oh Boy!! Another Bucket List destination: Angkor Wat.   We started our visit with a sunrise shoot. Unfortunately, many, many people had the same idea. Jay Dickman scouted a less crowed area and put us in a perfect spot. (Except the guy in the white T-Shirt, center slightly left).

Angkor Wat Archaeological Park is deep in the forests of Cambodia’s Siem Reap province. The Khmer Empire’s various capitals thrived there from the 9^th to 15^th centuries. We only saw a relatively small portion. Angkor covers more than 400 square miles. There are many surviving temples, and the massive Angkor Wat is the most famous. The site was built as a spiritual home for the Hindu God, Vishnu. It is breathtaking, glorious, and otherworldly and there are not adequate words. We visited other sites as well: Bayon, Ta Prohm Temples and the Elephant Terrace. The Terrance of the Elephants is a huge platform with walls covered by elephant carvings. It was used as the royal reception pavilion during the reign of Jayavarman 7^th, (12^th Century).

Elephant Terrace

Tree growing out of stone