Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Kate and I have spent a truly memorable day visiting the amazing 12th century temples collectively known as Angkor Wat.  Angkor Wat really refers to the best preserved and most holy of the Hindu temples (now Buddhist) built by emperor Suryavarman II who “unified Cambodia and extended Khmer influence across much of Southeast Asia” (to quote Lonely Planet).  It is essentially a huge square plot of land with the temple in the middle, surrounded by a 190 meter wide moat.  It was built at the same time that some of the most famous gothic cathedrals of Europe (Notre Dame, Chartres) were being built.  Not only is the scale of the place truly astonishing, it is the intricate stone carvings of battles and Hindu gods throughout.  We are staying in Siem Reap, the nearby town devoted to feeding and watering the increasing numbers of tourists.  Siem Reap, if translated literally, means rather tactlessly Siamese Defeated, in commemoration of a battle with the Thais.  Honestly, Indochina is little different from Europe with its long history of nations (Khmers, Viets, Chams, Siamese, Lao, Chinese) endlessly battling one another for land.  

Ta Prohm

It’s great to have someone to share all these things with, not to mention share meals with.  I find we’re naturally spending longer over meals than I did when I was eating alone.  Good nosh in Cambodia too – last night we had Amok, fish cooked in banana leaf.