Siem Reap, Cambodia (in progress)

Needless to say, it was freezing cold in Seoul the day we left.  After 4 hours of sitting on the tarmac due to conditions that required us to refuel prior to take off, we were finally on our way over some amazing clouds.

Our view from our first tuktuk ride in Cambodia was filled with three smiling kids.

Traffic was very interesting.  Though there were lines painted on the road, these were merely suggestions as many would go three wide to pass others going a little slow.  Made for interesting trips every day.

Mike was a cool guy that spent about 35 years in California.  He had a pretty gnarly bike and monkey.  He struck up a nice conversation with us as we were exploring the city markets.

Beth scoping out some local products.

"Foot Massage"

All three had to try it out.

Christmas Eve Eve in the Night Market.

Christmas Eve we went on our first tour to Khulen Mountain to visit less visited temple and waterfalls.

Christmas Eve at the 1000 Lingas.  There was a monk traveling through the jungle on her way to the temple.

1000 Lingas are carvings within the bedrock of the river.  They 'purify' the water, turning it into holy water in which visitors may bath at the waterfalls downstream.

Waterfalls downstream from the 1000 Lingas.

Gate to the temple grounds.

Beautiful woman welcoming visitors at the temple grounds.

Atop a large rock, seen surrounded by the stairs, was carved the "Reclining Budda" which is pictured below.

Reclining Budda

This gent was playing some bells that added to the ambiance of the temple where the air was filled with incense.  

After leaving the temple we noted a lot of palm trees had these makeshift ladders that were constructed. 

The palm juice is reduced to make a palm sugar candy over open wood fires.  Amazing smell!

Sugar candies after being formed.

After the adventures, back to the hotel for reading of Luke 2 to polish off Christmas Eve activities.

Next day we headed out to visit the Siem Reap Archeological Park.  This was the gate which lead to the first temple, Ta Promh.

Structure out front of Ta Prohm, which we were told was likely the library.

Tree growing from Ta Prohm.

There is a lot of renovation which is taking place throughout the park.  However, I very much enjoyed exploring the temples that were still in their 'natural state.'  

Structures were just amazing to explore.

No wonder why Tomb Raider was filmed here.  The picture just above this on is the top of this tree pictured behind us here.

Victory Gate at Angkor Thom

Another view of Victory gate up close.

No pose is complete without Beth crossing her eyes.

Phimeanakas temple.  Does not look it, but the climb up to the third story was extremely steep.

Probably my favorite temple to visit, the Bayon Temple.  From afar it was difficult to see the faces that were carved into the massive structure as seen better below.

The clouds offered for some pretty cool views with a wide angle lens.

Bayon temple faces up close and personal.  

View down to one of the halls.  It is also important to note the comparison to Lego blocks that these structures have as seen in the block at the middle center.  All the blocks of the temple interlock with one another just like Legos.  Too bad they did not copyright the technology.

After Bayon temple, time for some local food cooked in this very up-to-date kitchen over open fire!  Actually, the food was pretty good.

We finished of the temple exploring for the day at Angkor Wat.  This is one of the entry ways of the main gate.

Angkor Wat from the reflecting pond.

Angkor Wat hallway.

Exploring the halls of the upper portion of the temple.  Unfortunately, kids were not allowed at this level of the temple.

Could not resist.

Our super awesome guide, SokPee explaining the carvings on the wall depicting hell, earth and heaven.  Was interesting to see.

Exiting Angkor Wat.

Topped off the night at the Cambodian Circus.  Fun time with stunts performed by amateur performers made their stunts exciting because you simply did not know if they would be able to pull off the stunts or not.  Good time.

Next morning forced the kids out ob bed to go see the sunrise at Angkor Wat.  Views were spectacular.

Views were awesome.  You will note that Lexi was also trying to capture the moment with her new camera!

Preah Khan.  This tempe was spectacular to explore.  A number of hallways led to beautiful ruins that had not yet been restored.  Truly amazing views around every corner.  

You probably noticed that a lot of heads are missing from carvings and statues.  Some were destroyed by people stealing them to sell on the black market.  Interestingly, some others were destroyed years prior during disagreements between the Hindus and Buddhist followers.  (I am still a little fuzzy on some of the history.  Sorry)

Amazing tree near the end of the temple at Preach Khan.

On our way back from Neak Pean Temple.

Neak Pean

Kids took candy and bubbles to hand out to kids they met along the way.  This lead to more smiles than it did confusion.

Another rad tree along the way.

The oldest temple we visited on our trip, Banteay Srie.  This was opened in 967 AD.

Given its age, it is hard to believe the detail that remains in many of the carvings overlying the entryways.

Yet another beautiful carving that has survived the times.

Pre Rup.  Note no pictures of the kids here.  They were asleep in the van where there was some A/C.

Probably our favorite part of the trip was visiting Compong Pluk Village, a fishing village that survives off the Tonle Sap, the largest fresh water lake of Southeast Asia.

Felt like we were traveling within the pages of a National Geographic magazine.  Spectacular views.

The rutter of the boat was controlled by a rope and pulley system that wrapped around the steering column.

Local market with fresh vegetables for sale.

After a 15 minute boat ride we made it to the village center.  Interesting to think that during the rainy season, this entire road can be covered with water turning this into a village 'floating' on the water.

School is in.

Trying out big brother's bike.

Soccer game.

There was a wedding that had taken place just prior to our arrival.  The generator seen on the right of the picture was powering some massive speakers that were filling the air with festive music during our visit to the village.

Local cutting ice for her home.

The waterway that we traveled.

Locals provided boat rides through the tree groves surrounding the apex of the village.

Views were unreal.

Waiting for our ride to finish up dinner.

Just beyond the man you will note a box floating in the water.  There were about 3-4 foot long crocs in their.  Hard to say if they were for the restaurant or for export.  Likely both per our guide.

This lake was huge!!!  Thought we were overlooking an ocean during the sunset.

Next morning was a little more low key doing some pottery classes and eating only American food.

Hard Rock Cafe!  It was a welcomed treat.