A Photo Essay: Angkor Wat

Ankor Wat, one of the best ruins in the world.

The joyful stone faces that make this place famous stare down at us from their lofty towers. It must have been quite startling to come across this place back in the day, while trekking through the snake infested jungle. Here, tall trees have grown down over the ruins, holding some stones in place while moving others. They look like large elephants that’ve forgotten how to do anything but soak up the sun and water from this tropical paradise. I can sometimes relate.

The boys clamber up and down the ruins, agile as mountain goats, matched only by the dozens of monkeys that lounge near the stair steps. These mischievous little fellows are quite used to humans. They beg food from passing tourists, and one even goes so far as to steal a woman’s purse. Shrieking, she bats at it, and it bares long sharp teeth at her. Reluctantly, it drops the bag and scampers away to the relative safety of the trees.

Angkor had some of the best carvings and scenery of any ruin I’ve yet visited. I hope you enjoy these photos we took during our time at Angkor!