temple hopping

after days of temple hopping in Siem Reap i remain in awe of the immense size and technology used by the Khmer Empire.  whenever i talked with other travelers about the temples there was always a glazed over look in thier eyes and now i understand why.   it is difficult to put words to the experience.  the global economy plus the begining of the rainy season here = temple sites are deserted. 

on the last day i visit some temple sites that are farther out and this is the only day that i run into bus loads of Chinese tourists.  on the road to the remote temples is the Landmine Museum which is the home to Aki Ra, a child soldier of the Khmer Rouge turned humanitarian.   his life is the story of how one person can impact the world.  http://www.yearzerodoc.coml/ none of the large tour buses filled with tourists stop here.

the temples each have thier own personality and each is as spectacular as the previous.  Angkor Wat is the mother of all temples and it is huge.  they say only the size and technologies of Manchu Pichu and Petra compare to the anchient civilization of Angkor Wat.  we hire a guide for one day and he is well educated and after a few years of working within the government to create change he has created a NGO focused on educating girls from rural areas like his home to empower the peasants.  http://www.ngo2bambooshoot.org/