005SlideShowCambodia60.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia52.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia69.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat sightseeing balloon DSC07068TonleSap.jpg=TONLE SAP (north of Phnom Penh) is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia at the end of the wet season but is only a large lake in the dry season when it shrinks to a fraction of its wet season size Stretching almost all the way from Phnom Penh to Angkor Wat, it provides water for half of Cambodia's crops, and yields fish that supplies Cambodia’s population with half its protein It is also one of the country’s most important transportation links. 005SlideShowCambodia36.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Ta Prohm temple 005SlideShowCambodia26.jpg=Cambodia, travelling from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. 005SlideShowCambodia79.jpg=Lake Tonle Sap 005SlideShowCambodia44.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia8.jpg=Phnom Penh, Cambodia- Royal Palace and museum 005SlideShowCambodia18.jpg=The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh 005SlideShowCambodia70.jpg=TONLE SAP (north of Phnom Penh) 005SlideShowCambodia59.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Bun Yong's family 005SlideShowCambodia16.jpg=The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, chronicling the Cambodian genocide. The site is a former high school which was used as the notorious Security Prison 21 (S-21) by the Khmer Rouge regime from its rise to power in 1975 to its fall in 1979. Tuol Sleng means "Hill of the Poisonous Trees" or "Strychnine Hill". Tuol Sleng was only one of at least 150 execution centers in the country,and as many as 20,000 prisoners there were later killed. 005SlideShowCambodia32.jpg=Cambodia, travelling from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. 005SlideShowCambodia62.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia75.jpg=Lake Tonle Sap 005SlideShowCambodia80.jpg=Lake Tonle Sap 005LesCambodia1.jpg=Phnom Penh, Cambodia 005SlideShowCambodia28.jpg=Cambodia, travelling from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. 005SlideShowCambodia77.jpg=Lake Tonle Sap 005SlideShowCambodia34.jpg=Cambodia, travelling from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. 005SlideShowCambodia64.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" DSC06771.JPG=Phnom Penh, Cambodia- Royal Palace and museum 005SlideShowCambodia50.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005LesCambodia8.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia6.jpg=Phnom Penh, Cambodia 005SlideShowCambodia46.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia22.jpg=Phnom Penh, Choeung Ek, where human remains have been intentionally left lying around the memorial site 005SlideShowCambodia13.jpg=Phnom Penh, Cambodia- Royal Palace and museum Angkor_04a.jpg=Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world, with the site measuring 162.6 hectares (1,626,000 sq meters). It was originally constructed as a Hindu temple for the Khmer Empire, gradually transforming into a Buddhist temple toward the end of the 12th century. It was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura, the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Breaking from the Shaiva tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag 005SlideShowCambodia65.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia56.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia73.jpg=TONLE SAP the villagers move with the rise and fall of the lake 005SlideShowCambodia82.jpg=Lake Tonle Sap 005SlideShowCambodia30.jpg=Cambodia, travelling from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. 005LesCambodia6.jpg=Cambodia, travelling from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. 005SlideShowCambodia39.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Ta Prohm temple 005LesCambodia10.jpg=Siem Reap orphanage 005SlideShowCambodia48.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia4.jpg=Phnom Penh, Cambodia 005SlideShowCambodia84.jpg=Aranya Prathet border crossing, Cambodia to Thailand 005SlideShowCambodia54.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" DSC06868.JPG=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Ta Prohm temple 005SlideShowCambodia41.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Ta Prohm temple 005SlideShowCambodia24.jpg=Cambodia, Phnom Penh. 005SlideShowCambodia67.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat sightseeing balloon 005SlideShowCambodia11.jpg=Phnom Penh, Cambodia- Royal Palace and museum 005LesCambodia.jpg=Our route from Saigon (HCMC) to Phnom Penh (Blue line) crossing the border into Cambodia (Red line) 005SlideShowCambodia71.jpg=TONLE SAP (north of Phnom Penh) 005SlideShowCambodia2.jpg=Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s busy capital, sits at the junction of the Mekong and Tonlé Sap rivers. It was a hub for both the Khmer Empire and French colonialists. On its walkable riverfront, lined with parks, restaurants and bars, is the ornate Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda and the National Museum, displaying artifacts from around the country. 005SlideShowCambodia37.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Ta Prohm temple 005LesCambodia4.jpg=Phnom Penh, Choeung Ek. Spiked palm frond stems were used to sever the limbs of prisoners 005SlideShowCambodia35.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Polluting the waterways 005SlideShowCambodia27.jpg=Cambodia, travelling from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap - foods in search of protein 005SlideShowCambodia9.jpg=Phnom Penh, Cambodia- Royal Palace and museum 005SlideShowCambodia78.jpg=Lake Tonle Sap 005SlideShowCambodia19.jpg=The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh ThaProm_01.jpg=Ta Prohm is a temple of towers, closed courtyards and narrow corridors. Many of the corridors are impassable, clogged with jumbled piles of delicately carved stone blocks dislodged by the roots of long-decayed trees. Bas-reliefs on bulging walls are carpeted with lichen, moss and creeping plants, and shrubs sprout from the roofs of monumental porches. Trees, hundreds of years old, tower overhead, their leaves filtering the sunlight and casting a greenish pall over the whole scene. 005SlideShowCambodia43.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia53.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia17.jpg=The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh 005SlideShowCambodia61.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia10.jpg=Phnom Penh, Cambodia- Royal Palace and museum 005LesCambodia2.jpg=Phnom Penh, Cambodia- No guns allowed in the Royal Palace 005SlideShowCambodia.jpg=Vietnam, Moc Bai – Bavet Border is one of the three international border gates of Cambodia 005SlideShowCambodia29.jpg=Cambodia, travelling from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. 005SlideShowCambodia76.jpg=Lake Tonle Sap 005LesCambodia7.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. 005SlideShowCambodia7.jpg=The Royal Palace, is a complex of buildings which serves as the royal residence of the king of Cambodia. Its full name in the Khmer language is Preah Barum Reachea Veang Chaktomuk Serei Mongko. The Kings of Cambodia have occupied it since it was built in 1860s, with a period of absence when the country came into turmoil during and after the reign of the Khmer Rouge. \ \ The palace was constructed after King Norodom relocated the royal capital from Oudong to Phnom Penh in the mid-19th century.The palace was constructed after King Norodom relocated the royal capital from Oudong to Phnom Penh in the mid-19th century 005SlideShowCambodia58.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia45.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia47.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia15.jpg=Phnom Penh, Cambodia- Royal Palace and museum 005SlideShowCambodia51.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia20.jpg=This peaceful stretch of green fields and ponds at Choeung Ek hide the horrors that occurred at the site in the 1970s. Located 17 kilometers from Phnom Penh. Choeung Ek was made famous in the movie called The Killing Fields. 005LesCambodia9.jpg=Lake Tonle Sap 005SlideShowCambodia81.jpg=Lake Tonle Sap 005SlideShowCambodia63.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia33.jpg=Cambodia, travelling from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. 005LesCambodia5.jpg=Cambodia, travelling from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. 005LesCambodia11.jpg=Leaving Siem Reap we crossed the border back to Thailand DSC06941.JPG=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia49.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia21.jpg=Phnom Penh, Choeung Ek 005SlideShowCambodia3.jpg=Phnom Penh, Cambodia 005SlideShowCambodia5.jpg=Phnom Penh, Cambodia 005SlideShowCambodia23.jpg=Phnom Penh, Choeung Ek, made famous in the movie called The Killing Fields. 005SlideShowCambodia40.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Ta Prohm temple 005SlideShowCambodia66.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia14.jpg=Phnom Penh, Cambodia- Royal Palace and museum 005SlideShowCambodia74.jpg=Lake Tonle Sap 005SlideShowCambodia57.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia83.jpg=Siem Reap orphanage 005SlideShowCambodia31.jpg=Cambodia, travelling from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. 005SlideShowCambodia38.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Ta Prohm temple 005LesCambodia3.jpg=Phnom Penh, Cambodia- Royal Palace and museum 005SlideShowCambodia1.jpg=Cambodia, Moc Bai – Bavet Border 005SlideShowCambodia72.jpg=TONLE SAP (north of Phnom Penh) 005SlideShowCambodia42.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" 005SlideShowCambodia25.jpg=Cambodia, travelling from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. 005SlideShowCambodia12.jpg=Phnom Penh, Cambodia- Royal Palace and museum 005SlideShowCambodia68.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat sightseeing balloon 005SlideShowCambodia55.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, or "Capital Temple" Angkor_03.jpg=Cambodia, Siem Reap. The city of Angkor served as the royal centre from which a dynasty of Khmer kings ruled one of the largest, most prosperous, and most sophisticated kingdoms in the history of Southeast Asia. From the last decade of the 9th century, when King Yashovarman I made Angkor his place of residence, until the early years of the 13th century, the kings of Angkor ruled over a territory that extended from the tip of the Indochinese Peninsula northward to modern Yunnan province, China, and from Vietnam westward toward the Bay of Bengal. During this entire period, these rulers utilized the vast resources of labour and wealth at their disposal to carry out a series of prodigious construction projects designed to glorify both themselves, their gods, and their capital city. After the reign of King Jayavarman VII (1181–c. 1220), the power and vitality of the kingdom gradually waned until finally, after the armies of the Tai state of Ayutthaya (Ayudhia) captured and sacked Angkor in 1431, the city was partially abandoned.