Cambodia is hot! And when I say hot, I mean that type of relentless heat and humidity that makes you retreat indoors during the hottest hours of the day. Cambodia has two seasons: wet and dry. We were there in November which is the first month of the dry season which runs through March. During the dry season, temperatures can reach up to 104 °F, but when we were there, it was in the mid to upper 90s and humid!
Having just arrived after the end of the rainy season, we could still see the effects of the heavy rains, mainly though the size of the main lake in Cambodia, Lake Tonle Sap. During the dry season, the lake is about 1,000 sq mi, but can reach 9,500 sq mi during the rainy season. As we flew into Siem Reap, we could see that much of the land was still flooded.
For those of you not familiar with Cambodia, it is sandwiched between Thailand and Vietnam with Laos to the north. Parts of Cambodia are a part of the Mekong Delta which extends down through Vietnam.
As I mentioned before, the Angkor Wat complex is huge! Here are pictures of Banteay Kdei, Banteay Samre, Banteay Srei, Prasat Kravan, Pre Rup, and Preah Khan. The pictures really can't do the temples justice. Hopefully we will have the chance to explain the meaning behind the individual pictures. Some of the temples started out a Buddhist, but when the Hindus took over, all the Buddha carvings were removed or changed into Hindu carvings, often ones of dancers. If you have any questions about specific pictures, please do not hesitate to ask!
No comments:
Post a Comment