Follow me into the main part of the city...

Some intricate sandstone carving.
The entire length of this hallway was covered in this type of display
Amazing!

Part of one of the Four Water Basins or know as the 'cruciform cloister'

Most of the temples in the Central Angkor region (18 temples) are made out of grey sandstone and
pumas stone (easy to carve). The quarry for the grey stone was located over 60 kms away

"despite the difficulty, stone windows commonly featured lathe-turned balusters"
According to a great book that Glen purchased. Available to read if anyone is interested by the way

'Apsaras''
Female spirit of the clouds and waters
in Hindu and Buddhist mythology
You will see a lot of her throughout this tour

Water is very important for the complex
Unfortunately with the (extreme) dry season much of the reflecting pool
had dried up. Therefore the water was being pumped in from the moat that surrounds the temple 

Our group of travelers
Looks as though the main spire is coming out of my head!

Our tour guide for Cambodia (Daaling: pronounced Darling) warned us of the danger of any contact with the
local monkey population. "Don't go near the monkeys!!"
This one came up behind me as I was taking a water break 

It's 4:45 am, the air is cool the sun not yet up...
You are sitting on an interior wall, 8 feet above the ground
 Waiting for the sun to rise over
the World's largest religious monument
The true reason from coming on this trip 

Here comes the morning sun

In the distance...
Angkor Wat temple

If you ever travel to Cambodia make sure you have a little bit of American money on you, to get through the border...
We were told that Canadians paid $10 as an entrance fee. This is standard. In Turkey we paid $60. So we thought "that's not to bad..." When we were going through security (?) the price was $ 35 each. It's a good thing that I had kept a little extra. I have no idea what they would have had you do if you were unable to pay, considering the ATM was on the other side of the border. When we finally got to pick up our bags and head through customs the custom officer took both our passports and shooed me through. He then whispered to Glen "tip, tip tip" Glen said "I'm sorry I don't understand you?" Customs said again " you give me money" I came back through the gate and stood next to Glen, the official said "no, no you go through" Glen said "we're on a tour, the group is waiting for us" Official finally stamped our passports and let us through. Stressful! He then tried to do the same thing with the next couple ( from our group ) what a crazy situation.

                                                WELCOME to CAMBODIA!

As this was the last night that the whole group was spending together we all got dressed up and made our way to the "Elisa" floating restaurant. I unfortunately did not bring my camera on this excursion. One of the Aussie's even said to me "Ali, I thought that camera was an extension on your body!" In the rush of getting back from the museum, showering and getting all dressed up I simply forgot it. I encourage you to look up the Elisa as she is a stunning ship. She has the traditional 'Junk' sails. The food was good and the entertainment lovely. All in all a great evening. After supper we exchanged emails of the people who were not continuing on but flying back to Australia. Then we went back to the hotel to relax (glen) and pack (me). Tomorrow we're off to Siem Reap, Cambodia!

This hallway was very important...for some reason...
1974

Hallway today...
2016

Ambassadors Chamber

Last ceremony to ever take place in the Independence Palace
1975 April 18

2016
Side view

2016
Entering from the front view

Vice President's
Reception Salon

2016

1975