Angkor Thom Siem Reap, Cambodia 1/30/2006

It is brutally hot here - don't know how hot it is but you don't want to go anywhere without a bottle of water. I gave up on bandannas - now I just take a towel! Climbing around these temples, you have to take a lot of breaks. There are a lot of cool spots inside the temples, good spots to sit down. I thought that it would be cooler here at this time of the year - boy was I wrong! I think it's just as hot now as it was the last time I was here. Actually, the nights are cooler...... There are way too many people here. What a difference a good pandemic makes! Kinda makes me wish for SARS again. Last time this place was a ghost town. Yesterday I went by one site and there were so many tour buses I had to stop counting at 30. There are traffic jams everywhere. Fortunately, these sites are so big that once you're inside you can still get lost and find places where there is nobody around. And that's where the beauty is. This a truly magical place. There are places here that just take your breath away. And I must say - even with all the aggravation, the hordes of people, the unforgiving heat - I'm not sorry I came back here. I've been taking pictures like a madman since I got here - 900 in 3 days - so it's going to take a little time to sort them out.......