From the ancient Angkor Wat complex to the streets of Thailand's most crowded city, a simple trip that still takes all the energy a traveler can muster. I'm home now in Texas, and still processing the sights and sounds of Southeast Asia. We passed through Angkor Wat at almost criminal speeds, shooting pictures at a half jog while being briefed on the Buddhist history of the great Cambodian kings who built the complex. Overgrown and eroded, the wonders of the zone remain indelible, the giant, beatific faces standing guardian over this amazing site. Banyan trees retaking in places fortress walls, while elsewhere the tales of Chinese traders and Hindu epics carved into the walls.
Then blasting off for Bangkok, Thailand, trapped in traffic and tapped by touts. The city an amazing maze where the streets lead to glorious gold pagodas and the smell of street stall foods drive hunger to new heights. Tasty food, yes, and an amazing amalgam of faces in Thailand. Tourists from the East and West meeting at various junctures, along crowded markets where dildo amulets are sold alongside bear-claw charms and tiny carved statues of the Buddha himself. No doubt Bangkok is lurching into the 21st Century, but no doubt the ancient ways persist. A contrast to the backwards impressions left by Cambodia -- a now peaceful, resilient nation -- and Bangkok its own place, a destination and capital and no way just now to know how different from the rest of Thailand it might be. But the food, man, my god, the food....
I will post some pictures now. And I hope that I will have a chance to retouch these issues. But my own past history suggests this blog may be done for... still check back when you can!
Who knows what poetry may yet flow?
Pagoda rooftops and skyscrapers, Bangkok
The King's monument, Bangkok
Reclining Buddha, a famous landmark
Suspension Bridge, Bangkok
Golden garudas (half-men, half-eagle), a detail from the Royal Temple
