Siem Reap

Siem Reap Ankor Wat

We stayed at one of he finest hotels in Asia in Seim Reap, Raffles Hotel- the finest and we stayed below Jackie Kennedy’s room when she visited here.  In the cool of the early morning from our balcony in soft glow of light, orange paints the sky and wisps of white cotton pass overhead. From the stone veranda surrounding the sprawling serene pool we were surrounded in verdant foliage where birds sang songs of harmony.

And we partied like rock stars in black tie for new years!!

Dude I love “Hot Chicks” .  I danced the night away with this “Hot Chick”

and drank champagne and toasted the new year.  The waiters were sharply dressed in freshly pressed coats and ties. we were served dark European coffees over a breakfast of scrumptious fruits and we were addressed as sirs and madame.

Food was awesome

Our new found friends are elegantly dressed Europeans attired in blue blazers and their women in fine silk dresses. Black tie dinner dance for the evening and incredible cocktails and dancing. Old world charm. We set out for Angkor after breakfast.

There are two great complexes of ancient temples in Southeast Asia, one at Bagan in Burma, the other at Angkor in Cambodia.

 

The temples of Angkor, built by the Khmer civilization between 802 and 1220 AD, represent one of humankind’s most astonishing and enduring architectural achievements. The structures are more than 100 stone temples in all and they are the surviving remains of a grand religious, social and administrative metropolis.

Through the gates

At the temple of Phnom Bakheng there are over a 100 surrounding towers. Angkor Wat, built during the early years of the 12th century by Suryavaram II, honors the Hindu god Vishnu and is a symbolic representation of Hindu cosmology. Consisting of an enormous temple, its five inter-nested rectangular walls and moats represent chains of mountains and the cosmic ocean.

The size blows your mind.  This head is bigger than a person.

Ta Prohm has been left in the stranglehold of trees. Having planted themselves centuries ago, the tree’s serpentine roots pry apart the ancient stones and their immense trunks straddle the once bustling Buddhist temple.

Above is the temples that have not been repaired.  Built in the later part of the 12th century by Jayavarman VII,

Above and below are the stone relief depicting the various Gods, kings and women of the King.

The stone inner and outer buildings were in relief, totally amazing. During half-millennia of Khmer occupation, the city of Angkor became a pilgrimage destination of importance throughout South eastern Asia. Sacked by the Thais in 1431 and abandoned in 1432, Angkor was forgotten for a few centuries. The French explorer Henri Mouhot brought Angkor to the world’s attention in 1860. The French people beginning in 1908 funded and superbly managed an extensive restoration project. The restoration has continued to the present day, excepting periods in the 70’s and 80’s when military fighting prevented archaeologists from living near the ruins. They are adorned with stunningly beautiful religious art, the Angkor temples were instruments for assisting humans in their realization of the divine.

Ankgor:  it takes your breath away and the attention to detail is simply amazing.

Look at the attention to detail above and it is incredible.

Ryan Climbing the steps that takes us inside the 4 mile square complex.

From here we toured the lake and entire villages lived on the lake see below

Traveling the lake district

Just wash your clothes out the back side of the home

Buy your food form the delivery service out the front side of the home

Nice village

Lake life above