MO goes Around the World

Overland to Angkor Wat

March 29 to 31, 2024

This trip is what put me behind in writing the blog. What a magnificent trip and place. The hotel was five-star, the tour guide was excellent and the food was superb.

A man on a bicycle on the tarmac!
A local beer with lunch
Preserving local skills and handicrafts
One of four looms
The scarves produced are sold in the resident shop to support the school
A wood carver
The wood carver’s tools
Wood items produced in the shop
Stone carving is another skill taught
Painting
Basketweaving
Leather Art

I was one of the few in the group with a bathing suit. The hotel had two swimming pools. The proprietor encouraged folks to use the swimming pools to lower body temperature after sightseeing. I did just that!

https://www.jayahouseriverparksiemreap.com

Dinner followed and then an early bedtime for the big day!

From the UNESCO website:

Angkor, in Cambodia’s northern province of Siem Reap, is one of the most important archaeological sites of Southeast Asia. It extends over approximately 400 square kilometres and consists of scores of temples, hydraulic structures (basins, dykes, reservoirs, canals) as well as communication routes. For several centuries Angkor, was the centre of the Khmer Kingdom. With impressive monuments, several different ancient urban plans and large water reservoirs, the site is a unique concentration of features testifying to an exceptional civilization. Temples such as Angkor Wat, the Bayon, Preah Khan and Ta Prohm, exemplars of Khmer architecture, are closely linked to their geographical context as well as being imbued with symbolic significance. The architecture and layout of the successive capitals bear witness to a high level of social order and ranking within the Khmer Empire. Angkor is therefore a major site exemplifying cultural, religious and symbolic values, as well as containing high architectural, archaeological and artistic significance.

Sunrise at Angkor Wat
Inside the Temple complex. It was morning and it was HOT and humid.
Local Color
The center of the temple. That’s the tour guide’s phone showing due north
Royalty resided in the highest area of the temple.
Family gravesites. Notice the ones on the left are not cared for. There is no family remaining to care for the graves. The family were all killed in the Cambodian civil war 1967 to 1975.
It’s what’s for lunch

Marianne Harris

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