Siem Reap, Cambodia

On 26 October, we returned to Phnom Penh, by bus, because we didn't have any other options.  However, after Kassie's scolding, the bus company made sure they gave us their most cautious driver. The trip was uneventful, like it should be.  The next day we flew to Siem Reap and hired a tuk tuk driver to take us around to countless ancient temples of the Angkor Empire mostly built between the 11th and 13th centuries.  I can't even begin to describe the magnitude of these Hindu and Buddhist temples that are engineering marvels even by today's standards.  There are several documentaries on YouTube and elsewhere that describe the construction of these temples and extensive waterways of this ancient civilization.  

The history of the area is literally carved in stone in very intricate detail.

Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II and occupies 402 acres.

Considering the fact that this thing is still standing straight up and down almost 900 years later in the middle of a swamp, is an example of what I mean by "engineering marvel". 

The sand stones are fit so perfectly together that you cannot even slide a thin piece of paper between them.  This allowed them to make these intricate carvings across multiple bricks.  You can barely see that this carving was made across two giant bricks.

The giant sandstone bricks were cut out of a mountain almost 30 miles away and hauled on rafts downstream to the construction site.

Monks have had a presence at Angkor Wat throughout its history.

I'm not even going to guess which of the more than 1,000 temples we took this picture in.

Left untouched by man for hundreds of years, the jungle reclaimed the real estate.

See what eventually happens when you let those cute little trees grow in your rain gutters.

Angelina Jolie starred in the 2001 movie, "Tomb Raider" filmed in several of the temples of Angkor.

Competition is fierce in town to get tourist business after a long day of looking at temples.

Fortunately, there are enough expats around to offer alternatives to the dreadful instant coffee found throughout SE Asia.

More stairs, of course.

Kassie loves elephants!  Hopefully, our homeowners association specifically forbids having them as pets.