Angkor
A thousand years ago the Khmer ruled Southeast Asia and Angkor was the seat of their empire. They spent their time feeding the Vietnamese to the crocodiles, stomping on the Siamese and constructing colossal temples filled with beautiful dancers. Things change.
The Mongols and then French invaded, the American/Vietnamese war obliterated what little infrastructure there was. Then the Khmer Rouge stepped into the vacuum. They wiped out all the culture, all the intelligentsia, and maybe a quarter of the population. Eventually Vietnam rolled in and kicked Pol Pot out. The Khmers are now building up from nothing and just sort of making it up as they go. Somehow, out in the jungle, the temples have managed to survive all this.
While touring Bayan Temple I met this grinning old toothless monk who spoke French at me. All the old guys speak French and assume all Europeans do. He lead me around the temple and showed me how to pour water over a stone lingham and wash my face with it. Then he lead me to a bat cave and charged me a nickel for the use of his flashlight. Man, there were a lot of bats in there.
Photos of Angkor, Bayan, Preah Kahn and Tah Phrom
What we only started to grok in Siem Reap was how incredibly friendly the Khmers are. We found out a bit more about that in Phnom Penh…