In the temples: Siem Reap Cambodia

One thing that surprised me was though many of the structures looked like:

Many others seemed quite Roman. Perhaps once you start working with stone the same patterns emerge.

All the days I was there, the temperature was around 40C which led to moisture forming in between my lense and my uv filter. I didn’t notice until I had a few pictures like the one below. But it there was little respite from the heat, sweat continual and lightheaded, and trying to shield the camera somewhat. And the problem is that when you just have a few days, you end up going through the cliche shots; kind of something you just have to work through.

But there was access to all parts of the temples (I had heard that there were inner areas that only priests could enter, and then even more sacred spaces where even priests were not allowed but it did not seem to be the case). You could walk down the endless hallways, scramble up the many stories and around balustrades, and walk around the outside between the enclosuring walls and the forest (seemed more like forest than jungle).

A few years ago you had to be more careful of mines still around but there did not seem to be much of a concern now. What needed avoiding were the “helpful” guides and the nuns but that is another story.