Ankor Thom

Ankor Thom

Entry Bridge & the South Gate

Most of these pictures were taken on day 3 of the visit in the late afternoon. I had just bought a new memory stick only to find that my battery was running down!  But, the lighting just knocks me out.  You can recognize the pictures taken earlier by the difference in light.  

Surprisingly you don't see too many monks around the area, although there are lots of Buddhist altars.  This was shot on day 3 at the beginning of my mad sprint through Angkor Thom to make up for the pictures I couldn't take during days 1 & 2. This just before the bridge leading to the South Gate.

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This is my tuk tuk driver for the day. He would wait outside of Angkor Thom to take me back to Siem Reap all for $8.00 US.  Seemingly a nice guy, but one of these seemingly nice guys charged some Korean girls $20.00 US to take them one-way from Siem Reap to Angkor Wat (7 km)!  The trip should've cost $4.00 and an all day tour around the temples in the area (over 26 km total) about $11.00 -- don't let the "nice" guys win, know your prices.  Otherwise, the tuk tuks are reasonably comfortable.  Also, you can tell that "wealth" has only recently come to Cambodia because all of the motorbikes are newish and QUIET!  At least quiet compared to the hissing, buzzing, growling variety that inhabit the roads of HCMC.

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This is the view of the East Baray from the bridge. There are two Barays, which are man-made lakes now mostly dry, but as can be seen they retain some water during the rainy season.  You frequently see cattle grazing and watering in the East Baray.  I haven't been to the West Baray, but I understand it is used for swimming by the locals.

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I don't know why I like the East Baray so much, but I did. In the distance you can see a young boy cutting across it for what purpose I don't know.  I found it fascinating and was glad to get some pictures of it.  This one is shot between two of the demon guards. The one on the left has quite a bit of damage -- lost head, arms, belly, the segment of naga connecting him to the one on the right.  The right one has more left -- evidence of his head, shoulder, and arm are clearly visible.

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This dog was crossing the East Baray, as well, but completely unconnected with the boy's sojourn. He looks so alert and purposeful in this shot.  The dogs in Cambodia were considerably more active, but just as docile as those in Thailand.  The dogs in Thailand seemed like they just couldn't be bothered with your presence.  These dogs seemed to look for a handout from whoever passed.

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I'm so glad this picture turned out!  I loved the afternoon light and the way it was streaming through the trees was absolutely heavenly!  This lighting really added to the experience making it much more special.  Just looking at makes my inner-photographer just churn!

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At last I had arrived at the front of Bayon, the temple of the thousand faces... well, not a thousand, but 216!  I didn't count them, but that's what the Lonely Planet says (great guidebook for the trip btw).  And guess what 216 is twice that auspicious number 108!  Go figure!  I love this shot for the lighting and for the subtle faces that you can pick out of the facade.  They seem to materialize as if in a dream!

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The same shot, just a little further down. I had dreams of piecing this one together with two others to show the facade, but alas and alack it is not yet within my technical skill set to do so.  Otherwise, this shot is free from other visitors -- a real difficulty, not that I'm  a misanthrope or anything.  I love the way the light reflects off of the twisted roots of the tree and the deep contrasting shadows it creates -- these trees remind me of the textures of the temples; the similarity, to me, is uncanny and probably not coincidental.

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The back facade of the Bayon. I took this as I was exiting nearly completely exhausted by my mad race against the fading afternoon light.  In places the shadows were too deep to get a good shot, but the glow of the facade is beautiful.  Also, you can see the way the city is now organized for tourists.  The cars and vans waiting to take visitors on or back to Siem Reap, the motorbikes taking people around on their mysterious errands, and the people selling selling selling -- I felt like the Grinch and his complaints about the noisy Who-ites in Whoville -- but man could they be annoying.

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This shot really contrasts the peace and serenity that the temples represent, especially when they are not overrun with hordes of tourists and the locals trying desperately to make a living off them. There they are awaiting whoever happens to happen by to make their pitch to -- "buy from me!" It was the low season, so there were few tourists to make money off of, and we were swarmed everywhere we went. It was like entering a cloud of hungry mosquitoes!  I got to where I didn't want to talk to a locale because every conversation ended with a request for money.  I reminded myself constantly that these people are poor, and I gave where I could, but still I longed for a little piece and freedom from the pestering crowds of both tourists and hawkers.

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Some anonymous tourists walking across the front entry to Bauphron with their guide and a little boy hoping to make a dollar off of them somehow.  The juxtaposition between these people and the commercial use of the grounds they represent are so prominent in the foreground, and then in the back is the barely visible washed out in the light top of Bauphron.  I love the symbolism.  Not that there is anything wrong with the commercial use of the grounds now (I certainly would never have seen them without it) or that the original builders were some pure innocents, but the Khmer used them for their purposes -- worship of Buddha and the god-king -- and we use them for ours -- worship of money. This shout catches that tension to some degree.

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One of the last of my "beautiful light" shots.  This one from one of the small temples that march across the city.  And again, the ubiquitous tour buses without which the area would be too difficult for all but a small hardy determined handful to reach.

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