Phnom Penh

Here is a small warning.  Brace yourself for some long posts.  I did my best to try and break up Phnom Penh into 2 categories.....normal and very depressing.  So in this first post I squeezed all the happy fun stuff in.  The second Phnom Penh post will be much harder for me to share.  It may take me awhile but bare with me.....there is so much to learn from Cambodia.

 First stop, a cocktail at the FCC!

FCC stands for the Foreign Correspondents Club.

Lots of historical photos on the walls.

 

Cyclo tour of the city.

Huge central market!

Did some serious shopping in here.

How many people does it take to operate a motorbike?

 

Beautiful French inspired post office.

Snail Snacks!

Stunning iron work at the Royal Palace.

 

That's more my flavor, as far as snacks go.

The Royal Palace.

 More Royal Palace.

They were chasing us out of here because they were preparing to greet royal guests.  It was kind of funny!

 

I took a picture of this cement bag because I bought several wallets and bags that were made from these.

 

Amazing tree.  I had never seen anything like it.

This is the temple where our guide, Bun lived as a monk for a period of time.

 Some curious kidos probably wondering why we were hanging out inside the temple.

 Monks living quarters.

 Inside the monks living quarters, listening to Bun's friend play some beautiful music.

He is blind.

 Gate leaving the temple.

 

 

Thai tea....Cambodian style!

 This was some amazing food!!!!!

At Friends restaurant, a restaurant that gives back by raising funds for training programs for disadvantaged youth.  All of the workers were young people being trained.

 Chili ice cream with grilled pineapple!

It was fabulous!

 Some mango deliciousness.

 

Next stop......the hard part.

Angkor Wat 2

Here are the last little bits from my days touring Siem Reap & the Angkor Wat temple complex.

 

 Beautiful music as we approach a quite temple.

 

Their are so many temples and ruins it is just amazing that so many are so well preserved.

Breathtaking!

 

More blessings for our group and a chance to try Paan, a combination of betel leaf and areca nut.

I could not stand it.....totally burned my mouth.

 

Finding peace after a very long day.

 

 Children on their way home from school.

 

 



 

One of my favorite photos from my trip!

The stunning temple reflection in the moat.  I ordered this on a canvas to hang above my bed.  I seriously LOVE this pic!!!

 

 

Our group dinner after a very hot but amazing day!

 

 

Our appetizers!

 

Next post.....on the road & Phnom Penh!

Angkor Wat 1

This was a day I had dreamt about for 17 years!

I had this AMAZING geography teacher at Fresno City College who had been everywhere!  Every continent and almost every country he would teach us about he would also have a personal slide show and incredible tales of the exotic and wonderful things he had experienced.  The most memorable of his slide shows (for me anyways) was his trip to Angkor Wat in Cambodia.  At the time I had never even heard of Cambodia let alone a place called Angkor Wat.  It seemed so foreign, yet so magical.  I left class that day determined to see Angkor Wat for myself.  It may have taken me 17 years to get there but it did NOT disappoint!!!!!  It was absolutely incredible!

We awoke very early to be the first people at the most famous temple within the complex, Ta Prohm.  Most of you have seen Ta Prohm before in the movie Tomb Raider.  Imagine being surrounded by jungle in an ancient temple built in 1186 AD with only a small handful of people.

Words can't describe. 

Kari and I at the entrance to Ta Prohm.  It's stinkin hot but I have goose bumps.

Our temple guide explaining the stories that are carved on the temple walls.

Inside Angkor Wat.

Buddhist shrine inside the temple.

We had a monk creep into our photo!

The large moat surrounding the temple.

Angkor Wat

One of the gates.

A temple regular.



The Bayon

The Bayon

My delicious lunch inside the temple complex.

Veggie Amuk served in a coconut.  Yumm-o!

They have a pretty good version of this with chicken at the Cambodian restaurant in Fresno.

Ta Prohm

Apsara figures.

Wishing I was an Apsara!

The jungle slow taking over Ta Prohm.

Can you see the face hiding inside the roots??

Kari and I with Bun, our Cambodian guide.

The Angkor Wat temple complex is the largest Hindu temple complex and the largest religious monument in the world.  The temple was built by a king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century.  The name Angkor Wat means "city of temples".

 

I decided to break up these photos into 2 separate posts.  I have soooo many photos because there are so many amazing temple structures.  So hang in there friends!