First full day at Angkor Wat

February 1. Breakfast at the hotel, then tuk-tuk to Angkor Wat. As we’d been warned, our magical alone time of late yesterday is now shared with thousands of other visitors.

Nonetheless, this is our best day of the trip. It’s impossible to describe or capture in photos the magnitude of Angkor Wat, it’s enormous scope, the setting among trees, sometimes physically attached to trees, the monumental buildings and sculptures, the fine, subtle carvings everywhere, the play of light in passageways. Even the name, Angkor Wat, does not capture it, because Angkor Wat is just one part of the complex of area. The places we visited yesterday and until late this afternoon, were part of an area called Angkor Thom, which is many times larger than Angkor Wat. So, here’s a feeeble attempt to capture a bit of it, including a man being bathed and blessed by a monk, who chants the blessing.

This evening we have a marvelous surprise, going to Karl’s gorgeous modern house, which he designed, meeting his lovely wife and children, eating a delicious meal the cook for us and then seeing a dance performance by young women and men who study at a local school.