Farewell Cambodia.....we'll be back!

We're leaving Cambodia today for Thailand. We had an amazing time here, and we both agree, there's so much more to see here, that without a doubt, we want to come back. The entire Angkor area is amazingly majestic and beautiful. Rich with culture and history. The people of Cambodia is of the most genuinely nicest people we've ever met on earth. I'm sad we don't have more time here.
Here is just a glimpse of the few temple's we saw, including Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat, and Banteay Srei. There are over 1300 temples in Cambodia and ~800 just in the Angkor area. The pictures do not do its justice....you must come here to feel and see the how grand these temples are. This visit has definitely changed me in some way.
Angkor Wat- click this link to view Angkor Wat in Google Maps


The perimeter of Angkor Wat is lined with Buddah's. But you'll notice that almost all (if not all) the Buddah heads are missing. They have been stolen by collectors over the years! This is true for many of the statues found in all the Angkor temples. A few statues have been reconstructed but most of them remain faceless and headless. It was only until 1992 did the UNESCO started documenting all the artifacts. This has enabled them to verify stolen artifacts post 1992. But there is no record of anything before then, so no one knows exactly what has been stolen before 1992, so there is no way of recovering any items or catching these thieves. What a shame!!!




Here is a picture of an entrance way at Banteay Srei Temple, also known as the Pink Temple, or translated to 'Citadel of the Women'. It is the only temple made from pink sandstone. This temple has the most delicate and intricate carvings of all of the temples, all carved by hand! The detail is breathtaking. Again, the pictures do not do its justice. Its really amazing how these carvings tell the entire story of each temple. You could literally spend years learning about and reading all the carvings on the temples. They're all such complicated stories, its really facinating! We purchased a guidebook to learn more about these facinating stories from one of the local childern selling souvenirs in front of one of the temples. I talked her down from $7 to $5....what a bargain! Later to be offered the same book at another temple for $1!! hahah!!



Last, here's a picture of Ta Promh or as many people call it, "The Tomb Raider Temple" because part of the movie was filmed here in 2000. It's a spectacular place, with several trees literally growing out of what's left of the sandstone structure. This is the only temple that has been left in most of its original state; basically overgrown by the jungle. All the other temples, such as Angkor Wat have been excavated for tourists to visit and marvel over. We have several pretty amazing pictures that we'll post when we get home (too large to upload on this slow connection!). Sadly this was the last temple we visited on our memorable trip to Cambodia, but we definitely plan to return some day!