This entry shows photos from Angkor Wat which is the
largest religious monument in the world.
Although Angkor Wat is the jewel in the Angkor temple crown my heart was
stolen by Angkor Thom.
Angkor Wat was constructed during the reign of
Suryavaman II who reigned from 1113 AD to around 1150 AD.
Angkor Wat is
dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. It was abandoned some years after Suryavarman
II’s death, when Jayavarman established a new state capital at Angkor Thom. However, there has been a small population
living within the Angkor Wat area almost up until the present day. The moat protected it to a certain extent from
being totally overtaken by the jungle and there were monks living in and around
the temple for many years, as well as the walls providing some shelter for
refugees during the civil war.
My last picture is one of Ruth and I with
Angkor Wat in the background.
Ruth’s and my trip to Vietnam and
Cambodia was incredible in so many ways.
We saw beautiful palaces and temples but also much of man’s inhumanity
to man. Also some of the culture was
alien to us however I hope for things to change in the future.
The pace of the trips usually left
little time to recover. I found it hard
going though interesting. The Buddhist
temple trip was 4.5 hours most of which was spent walking in the hot sun. I fell behind on doing the blogs because I was
just so tired. It was not a trip for
someone with limited mobility.
Thankfully Thanh Duc, one of the tour directors helped me expand on what
I could have seen without assistance.
I am so pleased I had the experience
to visit Vietnam and Cambodia. The trip
however was an experience rather than a holiday.