Angkor Wat

I'm posting this update from Koh Chang, a beautiful island off the coast of Thailand, where we will be for two days. I wanted to write about our experience in Angkor Wat while the memories are still fresh. I'll be sure to post photos when I get back to Korea!
I spent all of Christmas Day traveling from Korea to Bangkok, where I would meet Maria and together we would go to Siem Reap, Cambodia to see Angkor Wat and other temples. Although exhausted by the time I arrived in the evening, we headed to Khao San Road - the main artery in Bangkok where young people from everywhere come in search of some fun - in search of a suitable Christmas dinner. For us the whole scene was a bit over the top, but we still enjoyed some good Thai curry and mango salad steps away from the madness.
Next morning, five AM we roused ourselves for the day-long journey to Siem Reap, negotiating taxis, buses, tuk-tuks (a motorcycle converted into a taxi), and a border crossing on the way to our guest house. Our headquarters during two full days exploring the richest collection of temples and ruins in East Asia, the guest house was on a quiet road; it had a restful vibe to it and the staff were very welcoming.

It is hard to put my experience of Angkor Wat and the 8 or so other temples and sites we visited over two days. Calling them amazing or breathtaking hardly does justice to the feeling the temples evoke. Taking them at face value alone, the temples recall impressive scenes of ruins from Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider. But for me, as we traversed this expansive area thick with both jungle and cultural sites, for one day by bicyle and the next by tuk-tuk, the imagination of what this culture must have been like in its heyday was what intrigued me the most. The massive scale - both of individual temples and the whole area - as well as the high level of detail and uniqueness in the many carvings decorating walls, doorways, and towers, places this empire on par with any in known history.
The pictures will speak volumes, so I'll stop here for now and finish the update upon my return.
Happy New Year to everyone!!