inconsistent news from southeast asia

Travel time: September 2005 - March 2006  |  by Matthew Audley

Angkor, continued.

Day 2 at Angkor, we went out by foot again, to see the complex of temples known as Angkor Thom - all of it within a very large area enclosed by a huge wall. First we saw the second most well-known temple here: Bayon. This one is somewhat in ruins, but spectacular nonetheless. The third floor is covered in huge towers with four faces on each of them.

Bayon.

Bayon.

Slowly but surely, I gave up on colour.

Slowly but surely, I gave up on colour.

The West Gate of the Angkor Thom complex.

The West Gate of the Angkor Thom complex.

I suppose I'll just give up on the text as I try to rush through some of this... Probably the highlight of the day, possibly the whole temple complex, was Preah Khan. It's got ATMOSPHERE. The jungle is swallowing it, slowly but surely. The confluence of the remarkable architecture and the, somehow more remarkable, trees makes for an interesting environment. It's huge and it sort of feels like you're the one discovering it at times. Lots of pasages are blocked with rubble and huge trees grow out of and through the stone walls surrounding it.

The trees really do outshine the temples... sometimes.

The trees really do outshine the temples... sometimes.

Ta Prohm?

Ta Prohm?

That tree on the left, it really did manage to glow, somehow.  No... umm.. really.

That tree on the left, it really did manage to glow, somehow. No... umm.. really.

Ta Prohm, i think.  Another one being swallowed by the jungle.

Ta Prohm, i think. Another one being swallowed by the jungle.

Well, there was a third day too, but we'll assume it's covered in those photos. If you really want the whole story, there's a ton of photographs and a book on Angkor Wat. I could do a whole presentation. But you'd have to sit through it.

Day three was, yes, NEW YEAR'S EVE!! What do you know, something about spending ten hours hiking around and up and down temples is not condusive to a wild night life. I did have an awesome hamburger and a few beers.
Catherine was kind enough to record the midnight crazy debauchery.

© Matthew Audley, 2005
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The trip
 
Description:
Leaving for bangkok on Sept. 12. Where we go from there is anyone's guess. Hoping to see Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos. Be back in six months or so if everything goes well. There really isn't much of a route planned - we'll see what happens.
Details:
Start of journey: Sep 12, 2005
Duration: 6 months
End of journey: Mar 19, 2006
Travelled countries: Thailand
Canada
Laos
Vietnam
Cambodia
Southeastern Asia
Malaysia
The Author
 
Matthew Audley is an active author on break-fresh-ground. since 19 years.
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