Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. It is the only temple in Angkor to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation — first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is the epitome of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag and is a world heritage site.
The sandstone was looking gorgeous in the early morning light. These images were all taken before 8am.

I arrived at Angkor Wat at 5am in the dark. Dawnbreak was lovely but not that serene as I was joined by another 200-300 photographers/tourists. So I left the viewing spot by the lake and entered the temple compound pretty swiftly well ahead of everyone. And then the serenity and wonder of the place hit me strongly.

Labels: Angkor Wat, Asia, Cambodia, Siem Reap, Sunrise, Temple

Although some of the young children in Kampong Phluk don't make it to school, most do. We climbed up to the classroom in a stilted house to say hello and leave a few riels in the donation box. The children enjoyed having their photos taken and viewing them on the back of the camera. The teacher made a point of telling them that we were from England and not Australia or America. Good Teacher.

Labels: Asia, Cambodia, Kampong Phluk, Siem Reap, Spontaneous Portraits

Labels: Asia, Cambodia, Kampong Phluk, Siem Reap

A life centered on water and fishing.

Labels: Asia, Cambodia, Kampong Phluk, Siem Reap

Kampong Phluk is a cluster of three villages of stilted houses built within the floodplain of the Tonle Sap Lake about 16 km southeast of Siem Reap, Cambodia. The villages are primarily Khmer and have about 3000 inhabitants between them.

Flooded mangrove forest surrounds the area and is home to a variety of wildlife including crab-eating macaques. During the dry season when I was there and the lake is low, the buildings in the villages seem to soar atop their 6-meter stilts exposed by the lack of water. During the rainy season the water rises 4-5 meters and the village becomes a 'floating' village.

The village is pretty poor and exists mainly on shrimp harvesting. The shrimps are cought, boiled, dryed, peeled and packed with anyone and everyone helping out.

Labels: Asia, Cambodia, Kampong Phluk

Bakong was the first sandstone temple mountain (an architectural representation of Mount Meru) constructed by rulers of the Khmer empire at Angkor in 802AD. There is an active Buddist temple on the site and a few temple boys were laying up for lunch...the monks being out collecting their food donations.

Labels: Asia, Bakong, Cambodia, Roulos, Siem Reap, Temple

As I was wandering around the outer boundary of Bakong Temple, I was passed by several children on their way home from school. Some were on foot, but most were riding knackered old bicycles. These were adult bikes, donated by overseas charities and are well oversize for most children. But as many kids have to walk up to 10km to school they are much prized.

Labels: Asia, Cambodia, Roulos, Siem Reap, Temple