Angkor

There are a few Angkor's around Siem Reap, Cambodia where I write this from. I don't mean that purely in a every place has multiple faces sense, there are literally a few different temples, ruins and evidence of the Khmer empire's building spree that took place 800-1000 years ago.

Some are in better shape than others, as might be expected in a jungle, in a country that has been

conquered and invaded numerous times and went through what I may graciously call a soul searching period within the last 20 years.  We think of this area as "Angkor Wat", but in fact that simply the best known, most photographed and best preserved site.  It's not the biggest or the awe-inspiring, but this is about word of mouth perhaps more than anything, and it's the one that captured the imagination.

So I wanted to save it, thinking it was best.  I don't think in hindsight that was a good assumption, and here's why - there's incredible richness in this whole place. Everywhere you turn in the jungle, there's another stunning piece of history.  Arguably the best are those off the beaten pathways.

They each have names, distinct histories and are worth exploring.  Some are being eaten by the jungles, and some are completely intact.  All will take your breath away.