Tuesday, June 16, 2009

angkor temples of cambodia

exploring the ancient temple complexes around angkor, cambodia was an amazing experience! angkor is said to be the largest religious monument/complex in the entire world as there are hundreds of temples surrounding angkor wat, covering something like 1000 square miles! the pictures i share here are spread throughout the temple complexes that we explored over three days!

the ankorian period of khmer rule started in the 9th century A.D. by the khmer hindu monarch, jayavarman II. the main temples began construction in the 1100's and the khmer ruled the region until the mid 1400's when the thai forces conquered, forcing the khmer to move their capitol to the present location of phnom pehn.

[sorry if this takes a while to load, i added the big pictures to show the details...]

must start the day with a solid cambodian breakfast!


the most famous temple of the bunch: angkor wat (with monks!).


a huge statue of buddha as you enter angkor wat.


monkey crossing.








the traditional peacock hats were fantastic!


the tourists were sometimes goofy ;)


conservationists have struggled to decide whether to restore all the temples to their original forms or let the trees continue to grow throughout. i'm glad they left some trees!






i love the details of the carvings, even though these structures are SO old!! i cant imagine what they looked like in their prime! the colors of the stones are amazing as well.




a decorated elephant!


some temples required serious(ly sweaty) climbs up steep stairs!




i loved the temple of faces, bayon!!









peace out!



more photos here!!

7 comments:

Eva said...

Amazing!. I imagine the pictures can't possibly cover the many great things you managed to see. I love the cool kid at the end, since when did so many Asians agree to lift two fingers for photos?.

Arun Rahul said...

Nice poutview of ur trip....
and a good info about the temples too... will plan for that place once... :D

Trees are awesome...

Big Mark 243 said...

I may never get to see these magnificent structures, but I can say that your pictures makes me 'feel' as if I am right there!!

Viewtiful_Justin said...

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing. The only experience I have with Angkor Wat was in the SNES game Illusions of Gaia. It looks so majestic and mysterious. Was there anything there talking about the mysterious disappearance of a whole society?

Ben said...

Thanks for the awesome pics, they brought me right back. I lived over there for almost a year. Amazing country. Sounds like you had a great time there yourself :)

Ken Riches said...

Looks like a fabulous trip, I am envious :o)

Unknown said...

the "jungle temple" with most of the overhanging trees was where "tombraider" (with angelina jolie) was filmed. i have loads more pictures that i might get around to publishing soon....