We made a stop at the general store. There was an area where crocodiles were being raised. There were many crocodile products for sale, such as dried crocodile meat, skins, taxidermy crocodiles, and purses.
While we were there, a woman rowed up with her two young children and a snake. The children and the snake posed for photos and the woman passed the hat. An interesting way to make a living...
It was interesting to see how the fishing village compared to a typical land based village. Most of the homes were built on stilts in order to be safe during the rainy season. The dwellings were simple, single room homes with little or no furniture.
The children all wanted to pose for photos and then shared with us the one thing they knew how to say in English : "one dollar?"
Angkor Wat, which means "temple city," was built by King Suryavaman II, during the 12th century, as his personal temple and mausoleum. It is considered to be the largest religious monument in the world. The building was designed to represent Mount Meru, the home of the gods, and the towers are the five peaks of those holy mountains.
The sandstone walls throughout the temple are filled with bas-relief friezes that, at one time, were lacquered and gold leafed. These carvings depict elaborate scenes from Hindu mythology as well as day to day life in the imperial court of the time period.
Enjoy the video of our favorite Angkor Wat photos.
Banteay Samre temple is believed to have been constructed during the reign of King Suryavaman II in the 12th century. The temple is built on a high stone platform and has elaborate Hindu carvings that are especially noteworthy in the lintels over the doorways.
As we were leaving the temple, we were treated to a most amazing sunset.
Our next destination, Bangkok, was not quite what we expected. We had visited Bangkok a little more than 30 years ago and had a picture in our heads of the quaint small city we had seen then. We arrived, however, in a large bustling modern city. It was interesting to see how much things had changed.
The modern airport had delightful sculptures decorating the long corridors. We especially liked the one depicting the Hindu myth of the churning of the sea of milk.
Our hotel, the Peninsula Hotel, had wonderful views of the city.
Wat Pho, or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, is a large temple complex that was once the first public university in Thailand. There are long covered corridors with beautifully detailed murals. Throughout the complex were many statues, some of which were used as ballasts on ships.
The reclining Buddha is huge. He is just over 150 feet long and almost 50 feet tall.
Wat Pho was beautiful and ornate. It has four chapels that are home to almost 400 golden Buddha sautes from different areas in Thailand. The grounds held many statues and there were 91 stupas that were decorated with ceramic tiles.
Wat Phra Kaew, or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, is a beautiful and ornate temple that houses a 26 inch tall statue of Buddha. The statue was carved from a single piece of jade or jasper.
The statue has three different outfits and the King, who is the only one permitted to touch the Buddha, changes the outfit in an elaborate ceremony for different seasons (hot, rainy, and cool seasons).
The temple is guarded by a pair of yakshis, or mythical giants. The statues are about 16 feet tall.
