Thursday, October 6, 2016

Taking a Break From Worrying About Matthew

We've done all we can, we gassed up the car, bought water and batteries, got battery operated lights, removed all furniture from the deck and and reserved a room at our friend's house who lives inland.  We don't plan on evacuating, but if necessary we will.  Our house is built 14 feet about the ground, that's a requirement in our area in case of flooding, so we're cautiously optimistic that except for losing electricity we should be ok.
But enough about that.  Let's talk about Angkor Wat.  The whole complex, and it is indeed a huge complex, was built between 802 and 1432.  It began life as a Hindu temple but eventually became a Buddhist Temple.  Wat means temple.  Angkor Wat was meant to be a replica of the universe in stone and represents an earthly model of the cosmic world.  It is immense and so, so beautiful.  I was mesmerized.  And I was thrilled to see monkeys on the roof, I've always wanted to see monkeys in the wild, these were Macaques---no our blog is not named after them.  We also saw some on the way to the next temple, our guide lured a couple up to the car so we could take some close-ups.
Someone asked if Angkor  still in use and I would say yes, and they ask you to be respectful in your dress, clothes over your knees and nothing sleeveless if you go to the higher towers.  This is enforced as there have been incidents of visitors posing naked and they were arrested.
I was so enthralled with Angkor, but in fairness I have to say that though it was my favorite temple, it was  not Macs or Aprils.












Angkor Wat





Our driver Tola and our guide Samath









u





Mystical snake 

Ta Prohm



Bayon






Ta Prohm

 He preferred Ta Prohm Kel, also known as the Tomb Raider temple because that's where the film was made, and that was where we headed next.
There are many trees growing up through this structure and Mac liked the way it was part of the jungle.  I was so hot when we got there that I did not go in, but 2 days later we went back earlier in the day and it was virtually empty and we took a ton  of photos.  It was built as a series of chapels for the hospitals that the King had built.  It was much, much smaller than Angkor.
Then we drove to April's favorite, Bayon, known for all the huge carved heads.  There were 54 towers and each side of the towers had a huge carved face. This was a very vertical temple and it was way too hot for me to climb it, so I sat and took pictures while Mac and April explored it.

That was just one day's exploring.  We had arranged in advance to have  a private guide who had a large air-conditioned SUV to drive us around in and each time we returned to the car there were ice cold washrags and bottled ice water.  We couldn't have done our trip without our guide Samath and our driver Tola, they took such good care of us










Here's some more photos












16 comments:

  1. I think it looks fabulous and to see monkeys on the roof, that would make it for me. The private guide with air-conditioned SUV sounds good, I think I'd definitely need that in that heat.

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  2. An amazing place - love those faces in the stone! Fun to see the monkeys, too. The stone looks so old and ancient. So nice that you had such thoughtful guides! Stay safe, my friend. xx Karen

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  3. Glad you went back a second time. It looks a fantastic place. What a wonderful trip. Stay safe in the next few hours. B xx

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  4. I'm glad you withstood the heat to take a look.

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  5. looks very interesting and loved hearing about the driver and guide. Hope all goes well with you til the storm passes. Wishing for the best outcome for you.

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  6. Wonderful photos of this amazing place. Please stay safe...the hurricane sounds bad. Hugs. Pat

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  7. It sounds like it was a very interesting place. I have friends who have been and loved it, but I think it now gets a lot more tourist traffic than it did when they went.

    I'm worried about you in the midst of that storm. Stay safe, and if it looks dangerous please leave.

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  8. Stay safe in the weather, hoping all will be ok for you. xx

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  9. I'm really enjoying your photographs, I can imagine having a guide makes all the difference.

    Hope Matthew is kind to your area.

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  10. What a wonderful set of photos, I am enjoying the tour you have taken us all on. Maybe one day...
    Stay safe.

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  11. Amazing post, such a beautiful place. Good luck with the storm. We are windy and rainy but nothing crazy over here.
    Meredith

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  12. I have enjoyed catching up with your Japan posts. We have just been watching a short series about japan with Joanna Lumley travelling from the furthest north to furthest South extremity. Thank you too for the reminder to inform the credit card company - another thing on my list for our upcoming trip to the US to see our sons, daughter in law and grand daughter.
    I hope the storm passes without harm to you and your property.

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  13. It looks an amazing place, and glad that you went back a second time.

    Thinking of you and all those who have been/may be affected by Hurricane Matthew. Stay safe.

    All the best Jan

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  14. I hope you didn't have lots of damage from Matthew it sounded pretty bad on the news:(

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  15. Thinking of you and hoping you are all safe - what a fabulous holiday though!

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  16. What an amazing place. I hadn't seen images of some of those other places before. Wow, now that's on my bucket list.

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