Ta Prohm, part of the Angkor temple complex, is one of the most popular temples with tourists. The temple was left mostly uncleared of trees and other signs of time, so the century old trees soar high into the sky and oftentimes took root right over and along various walls. (Most of the other temples were cleared of overgrown trees to allow easy access for tourists.)

The temples near Siem Reap, Cambodia are a history fan’s heaven, and as a result of leaving the trees alone to show their age, Ta Prohm may be the highlight of any trip to the Angkorian temples.

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Bhuddism is alive and well in Cambodia, and it has existed for several thousands of years through various empires kingdoms.  Then, in the mid-1970′s, when the Khemer Rouge came to power, Bhuddism was made illegal and followers either fled, went into hiding, or were executed.   As a result, overall numbers of monks went from (roughly) 70,000 to a mere 3,000.

So, while we were exploring Angkor Wat, Alisha and I were passed by a group of teenage monks, exploring the temples just like we were.  It was nice to see so many young monks around the area, as their religious history is almost starting anew, and these kids are a big part of it.

October 2010. (5888)

From the ancient Preah Khan temple, near Siem Reap, Cambodia, is a room that has since collapsed, filling a doorway with rubble.

October 2011. (6173)

While marching through the ancient temples of Cambodia, it’s easy to miss a lot of the small, small details.  This image is from Angkor Thom in Cambodia (near Siem Reap).

The roots of a centuries-old tree make their way across bricks from a past civilization.

October 2010. (5650)

I loved seeing these all over Cambodia.

Basically, everyone in Siem Reap drives scooters around.  The tanks of the scooters don’t hold much fuel, so frequently the motorbikes will make stops along the way of their journeys to top off the tank with gasoline.  As a result, along many of the main roads throughout Cambodia, people are selling bottles of gasoline.

In the United States, (legally) gasoline can only be stored in red canisters.  In Cambodia, used Johnnie Walker bottles will do the trick.

October 2010. (6208)

I have always been a sucker for markets in other countries.  Whenever I pass one, I need to walk through.  More often then not I buy something (usually some local fruit) for pennies compared to here in Chicago.  For example, at a market in Vietnam I bought two pounds of dragon fruit for 35 cents. In Chicago I paid $10 for one.

October 2010. (6223)

Hello and welcome to the fifth month of my photoblog!

I’m impressed with myself that I’ve made it this far in regularly posting images. Originally I wanted to post three days a week, but I suddenly found myself uploading five or six days a week. There are times when work takes over and I can’t upload for a day or two, but I’ve been posting no less than three images a week, and I really feel like my photography is re-inspired.

It’s nice to scroll through my images and find old pictures I have a new appreciation for. I think I mentioned it earlier, but it’s easy to come home from Cambodia with 1,000 pictures of “yet another temple.” However, spaced out over time, there are some fine pictures that stand out on their own, but didn’t end up in the travel photography section.

The above picture is a good example. When sorting through pictures from Siem Reap, Cambodia and the surrounding temples, this one isn’t as worthy as other pictures, I think. It does, however, stand out on it’s own when it’s mixed with flower pictures, images of the Chicago skyline and a random picture from Brazil.

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