Cambodia and Temples of Angkor

Water. People work in it, play in it, walk across it seemingly oblivious to the fact that it's up to their shoulders, and probably spend the majority of their waking day in it. That was our first impression of Cambodia.

After we crossed the border into Cambodia and got through the tourist hell-hole of Poipet, we took a long ride into the town of Siem Reap. The flooded land on either side of us went on as far as the eye could see. It is really not an overstatement to say that, during the wet season, Cambodia is basically a huge puddle (On that note, interesting fact we just learned: Tonle Sap lake, the largest in SE Asia, is shallow enough to wade across in the dry season despit being over 100 miles long). Unfortunately as we were being transported across a pretty washed out and bumpy road, we only got one picture of this:

We've spent a few days now in the town of Siem Reap, which has been the base for exploring the ancient city of Angkor. Angkor was built in the 12th century and consists of numerous temples. The main temple of Angkor Wat is the largest temple complex in the world. Built of sandstone, the level of detail on every wall, pillar and rooftop is truly staggering. The bas-relief wall carvings depict stories of ancient battles and mythology. The whole thing really is an architectural and anthopolgical marvel. We'll post some of our favorite pictures rather than try to describe any further: