Another non-Angkor photo, this one from Phnom Penh. 

I am expanding the theme of this page just a bit to include a few pictures from around Cambodia. I will soon stop putting pics up here altogether, at least until after I return to Cambodia later this year. This is a picture from the countryside outside Phnom Penh. 

As you float up the river towards Tonle Sap (Lake), you pass a lot of countryside, and several fishing villages, some of which are raised up off the river like this one. 

Another picture as we rode the boat up to Siem Reap. 

I probably should have started the page with this, the sun coming up in Phnom Penh as we waited for the boat (and out fateful boat ride)that would take us to Siem Reap. 

I took this picture on the Tonle Sap as our long boat journey to Siem Reap finally neared its end. While not actually part of Angkor Wat, many who go to Angkor for three or more days makes visiting this village of floating houses a part of their itinerary. 

A slightly different perspective of sunrise over Angkor Wat. 

I don't watch much TV, but I'm a big fan of CSI. When I saw this picture in black and white, I could not help but think of some of the funky chemicals they use to reveal blood or semen stains on walls or bed sheets.

A big tree swallowing a pile of ruin. 

A close up of one of the countless carvings to be found at Angkor Wat. 

Not the most exciting picture, but I look at this and remember the quiet as we approached the South Gate. The sun was just coming up, and as most people watch the sunrise from Angkor, there was only one other tourist about. People passing on bikes were on their way to work or school. The air was thick with the promise of heat, comfortable in the last moments before the coming of the sun. Natalia had gone off to find the bathroom, our driver closed his eyes, and I stood in the middle of the bridge thinking it had been worth waking up so early after all.

A close up of one of the giant faces at Bayon. 

One of the famous trees at Angkor. 

I posted this a long time ago on my other page, I think. This is one of my favorite moments from Angkor, watching this baby sleep over to the side while two women guards watched him and smiled. 

Angkor is not just about temples. On part of the grounds of one of the temples, a group of men were working in the surrounding moat/water. It looked as if they were trying to collect mud. This man was waiting while the large wooden scoop they had put together was emptied out.  

I don't think this picture is all that great, but I do like the way the doors line up and give the impression of tunneling to some point in the distance. 

Staring at Bayon. From here it is hard to make out the faces, and it is difficult to get an idea for how big the place is. Still, it is an intimidating presence. 

Before the sun came up. 

As I watched Cambodians riding their bikes around the temples, taking goods from place to place, or on their way to school, I often wondered how those living so close to the temples saw them. And how do they see the crowds of tourists who pour into the area each year? 

Not much to say for this but that I like the way the light adds to the image of the pulled-apart carving. 

There are many false windows around the complex. There are also some like this where you have to use your imagination to build what was once around it. 

The windows and entryways of the temples of Angkor are among my favorite features of the complex.

Some of the giant faces at Bayon. 

I think I took this in one of the passageways near the front entrance of Angkor. The more I go through my pictures looking for things to post, the more I want to go back... 

After looking at Steve McCurry's book of photos from Angkor last night, I decided I would post this today. I also decided that after I travel in China and Vietnam this fall, I would be crazy if I did not go back to A.W. for a week before heading back to Laos.