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A few of our friends recommended seeing Bantay Srei
temple at sunrise, so our guide and driver kindly obliged
by picking us up at 4:30am the following morning.
It was already warm, though we arrived well in advance
of the first rays.
Keywords Eliz
AngkorSunrise2.jpg
Since Cambodia is near the equator, the sun comes up
every day around 6am and goes down around 6pm -- no
daylight savings, either.
Keywords hdr, sunset
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First light on the temple. The little light is a candle
next to the Buddha inside.
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If there was an inside to these places, we weren't allowed
access.
AngkorSunrise5.jpg
Most of the temples we saw had double-walls.
Keywords hdr, sunset
AngkorTemple38.jpg
Elizabeth
The temple is in the background for scale.
Keywords Eliz, hdr
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Greg
A nicely framed shot.
Owner Elizabeth
Keywords Greg
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A bit over-exposed, but that was my fault, not our guide's.
Keywords Eliz, Greg
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The sun is still not quite up.
Keywords Eliz, Greg
AngkorDoorway7.jpg
Here we have an HDR shot to capture some of the first
rays.
Keywords hdr, sunset
AngkorSunrise7.jpg
This temple was also surrounded by a moat.
Keywords hdr, sunset
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I wonder if the ancient residents kept their moats clean
or not?
AngkorSunrise9.jpg
The outer wall from the outer bank.
Keywords hdr, sunset
AngkorTemple44.jpg
Bantay Srei
Ahh... This is what we came to see!
Keywords hdr
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Sanskrit that explains the meaning of life or something.
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Taking turns posing.
Keywords Eliz
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Look! I'm a-door-able. And just so witty, besides.
Owner Elizabeth
Keywords Greg
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I like the upside-down god sleeping under the demon.
I looked and they don't carry this cornice at Home
Depot, unfortunately.
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The entry passage.
Owner Elizabeth
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Many of the unplaced artifacts were marked and cataloged
for later re-assembly.
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The little shop-village by the temple.
Keywords hdr
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Rush hour in Cambodia.
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Eliz had a delicious soup for breakfast. I had some
oddly-shaped pancakes with honey. Yum!
AngkorCauseway4.jpg
Later that morning, we visited this other temple whose
name neither of us can recall. Should have written
it down...
Keywords hdr, nice
AngkorCauseway2.jpg
It also had a nice causeway, which seemed to lead off
in a disused direction.
Keywords hdr
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I'm more spritely than I look. (OK, I jumped about
two feet.)
Owner Elizabeth
Keywords Greg, funny
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Like the temple at Angkor Wat, this one seemed to be
built to hold water in a pool.
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A worker was clearing grass and other growth off the
roof while we were there.
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Here's a nice detail of one of the many-headed serpents
(Nagas) that were everywhere. This one is missing at
least two heads on one side, probably lost in a battle
with a multi-headed mongoose.
Keywords art
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I was thinking the space below was either a pool in
ancient times or possibly miniature golf.
AngkorDoorway16.jpg
The ancient Khmers had some of the best-aligned doors
in the known world. This one was a par three.
Keywords hdr
AngkorTemple53.jpg
Another HDR image, which would look spectacular on an
HDR display. You should really get one.
Keywords hdr
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One of the many "little bearded guys" as Eliz likes
to call them.
Keywords art
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I think there was a Buddha in the vacant throne at one
time....
Keywords art
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Demons always have the munchies, it seems.
Owner Elizabeth
Keywords art
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I suppose using a lawn mower is out of the question.
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Before there were factories, people made a lot of things
by hand. Or so I've been told.
Owner Elizabeth
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I fit right in. Really.
Owner Elizabeth
Keywords Greg
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We saw many of these curiously-shaped rocks imbedded
in the ground.
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I tried to get a photo of one of these brilliant yellow-green
butterflies, but never succeeded, so I had to settle
for a broken wing. (I didn't pull it off, I swear!)
Keywords wildlife
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No, they're not playing checkers. Eliz is shopping
little figurines from a quiet land-mine victim.
Keywords Eliz
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Streetside markets were everywhere.
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And you wouldn't believe all the tourists!
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This seemed a typical Cambodian home, complete with
chickens and cows and dogs, all wandering about the
unfenced property.
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Interesting horn design. Clearly there to discourage
large predators from biting on the top of the neck.
Keywords pets
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We saw many a dandy rooster.
Keywords pets
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Preah Rup
Like many of the rebuilt temples, ordinary bricks were
substituted for the original stones if they were lost
or unusable.
AngkorTemple58.jpg
The views from the top were spectacular, not just of
Preah Rup, but the surroundings as well.
Keywords hdr
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They just look so climbable, don't they?
Keywords Eliz
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I wonder what used to be inside the temples, if anything?
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The steps were steep!
Keywords Eliz
AngkorTemple60.jpg
Another double-wall.
Keywords hdr, nice
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How do they decide when they're done with the reconstruction?
When they're out of blocks? When they're out of money?
AngkorRuins3.jpg
Here are some more blocks if you need them.
Keywords hdr
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Another marketplace targeting tourists. I'll let you
know if I see any.
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One of the off-duty salespeople.
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Some of the silk-cotton trees were quite impressive.
Keywords hdr, panorama
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Ta Prohm is probably the most famous ruin, and has been
filmed many times, most notably in the opening sequence
of the first "Indiana Jones."
AngkorDoorway17.jpg
I'm not sure whether they intend to rebuild this temple
or not, but they had props and scaffolding here and
there to keep it from collapsing on us.
Keywords Eliz, hdr
AngkorTemple65.jpg
Ta Prohm
This is probably my favorite shot of the temple.
Keywords hdr, nice
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Elizabeth took many photos this day, including these.
Owner Elizabeth
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Some non-tourists.
Owner Elizabeth
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Now, this place has roots!
Owner Elizabeth
Keywords Greg
TempleMeditation.jpg
Don't meditate too long...
Keywords Eliz, hdr
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Gate crasher.
Owner Elizabeth
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A holey man.
Owner Elizabeth
Keywords Greg, funny
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I wonder how some of these seedlings got going atop
a stone building?
Owner Elizabeth
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The place was actually swarming with tourists, so getting
a photo like this required a lot of patience.
Owner Elizabeth
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Cool, eh?
Owner Elizabeth
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A green, furry demon.
AngkorDoorway19.jpg
The structures were surprisingly sturdy, considering
how parts would collapse against walls, and the walls
would take it.
Keywords hdr
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I suppose these are linga, though they're a bit stubby.
Owner Elizabeth
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Everyone else was getting their photo taken here, so
I took a turn as well.
Owner Elizabeth
Keywords Greg
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Most of our fellow tourists were Asian: either Japanese,
Chinese, or Korean.
Owner Elizabeth
AngkorTemple69.jpg
I love the layout of Ta Prohm, and the way it's almost
part of the jungle.
Keywords hdr
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Note how the roots actually grow between the masonry.
Owner Elizabeth
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This is one of my favorite doorway shots.
Owner Elizabeth
AngkorRuins12.jpg
And this is one of the best for HDR -- over 4 orders
of magnitude, count 'em!
Keywords hdr, nice
AngkorRuins14.jpg
Walls that thwarted many an army proved no match for
The Trees.
Keywords hdr
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Land mine victims playing music and taking donations.
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Tourist mart #7.
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I loved this gateway.
AngkorTemple72.jpg
"Ummm... Kids? Try not to lean on the walls too much."
Keywords hdr, nice
AngkorRoof8.jpg
The holey head from inside.
Keywords hdr
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Banteay Kdei
Mao took this shot of us from a good angle; he seems
to know them all.
Keywords Eliz, Greg, nice
AngkorDoorway22.jpg
This place was so cool.
Keywords hdr, nice
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Eliz took most of the detail shots, except this one
(I think).
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A warrior.
Owner Elizabeth
Keywords art
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A lovior.
Owner Elizabeth
Keywords art
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The Kmer's did have a thing for long sight lines.
Owner Elizabeth
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We finished up early this day, before it got really
hot.
Owner Elizabeth
Keywords Greg
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More doorways!
Owner Elizabeth
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The different lichens growing on the carvings added
to their richness.
Owner Elizabeth
Keywords art
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I love the details in this shot.
Owner Elizabeth
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Owner Elizabeth
Keywords art
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I wonder what kind of roof the monastery used to have?
Owner Elizabeth
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Not really a dancing Shiva, since she's missing a pair
of arms...
Owner Elizabeth
Keywords art
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No sale today.
Owner Elizabeth
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Another well-adored Buddha.
Owner Elizabeth
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And well-adorned as well.
Owner Elizabeth
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A typical window view.
Owner Elizabeth
AngkorLion2.jpg
Lions and Nagas surrounded the other entrance.
Keywords hdr
AngkorDoorway23.jpg
This shiva-linga was by an adjuct library in front of
Banteay Kdei.
Keywords hdr, nice
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The gateway to the temple, with the road beyond.
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A very long stone wall, still standing after millenia.
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The gateway from the outside.
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The food market where Mao brought us for some authetic
Cambodian fare.
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Deciding what to get.
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Back at our modest hotel.
CambodiaSunset1.jpg
Sunset over the driving range.
Keywords hdr, sunset
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A final buffet breakfast.
Keywords Eliz
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My favorite table.
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My food choices.
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Me, about to enjoy them.
Owner Elizabeth
Keywords Greg
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Eliz, enjoying hers.
Keywords Eliz
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On our stop in Hong Kong -- 8 hours' travel down, just
15 hours to go....
Keywords Eliz
Page created Oct 13 2007 3:25:55p