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> More Friendly Children, In Route to Phnom Kulen, Cambodia      Perhaps 50 km from Siem Reap but still several hours ride due to road conditions, Phnom Kulen is the highest point in Cambodia (1600 ft), and considered the sacred birthplace of the country. Temples, Buddhas and lingas beckon, along with a nice waterfall for a cooling swim. But the tightly controlled area requires a $20 admission per foreigner to guards at the mountain protecting the entrance for their military mafia bosses. Once you've spent the time and eaten the dust getting there, who's going to turn back without paying? As consolation, smiling children seem everywhere to transform their smile to you.
> Rural Home and Children near Beng Melea, Cambodia      More smiling young faces looking at the alien taking pictures. Rural homes are elevated on stilts as protection from extensive flooding that occurs with each long rainy season as waters from the Himalayas tumble down the Mekong, dramatically changing the landscape into huge lake or seascape each year.
> Girl in Route to Beng Melea, Cambodia      I saw this girl see me along the way to Beng Melea, three hours from Siem Reap by slow tuk-tuk. Once out in the country, extremely friendly but often wary children view travelers as if alien, but often still with a smile. Beng Melea is another very overgrown distant monument complex yet to be restored. It was nearby that I was cautioned not to enter another temple area closed to tourists because of mine danger, where local Cambodians were in stark contrast free to wander.
> Face in the Trees, the Bayon, Angkor, Cambodia      Another smiling Buddha at the Bayon, reflecting the harmony of nature and time from almost a millennia ago, still to this day.
> South Tower Gate, Angkor Thom, Cambodia      In route to the the ancient city of Angkor Thom you pass under and through these spectacular multii-visaged guard towers with giant smiling Buddhas beckoning. Each gate is part of a moated wall that surrounds what was once the capital city. Entrance is gained to a series of temples within the huge city, including the Bayon which is noted especially for it's abundance of these huge faces. Having been built with the arched passageways sized for elephant travel, the popularity of the city and it's temples contributes to frequent traffic jams on this principal tourist route as huge buses must await single passage through the gates. Atop these magnificent guard towers the godly visages of four 'Lokesvaras' command views toward each point of the compass.
> Row of Asuras Angkor Thom South Gate Area, Cambodia           With adundant sculpture lining the roadway, it's easy to commune with ancient idols on the way from one monument to another. Here we greet a row of 54 'asuras', or demons, offest by 54 'divas', or nice gods, on the opposite side of the road. The ever-present statuary in the midst of overgrown jungle is a constant reminder of past glories, but stark contrast to the less settling aspects of the present day war ravaged nation, such as mines still causing continuing human toll to the local populace and limiting access to more remote settings, and the generally struggling level of the simple life here. For all that, an inescapable recurring theme among visitors is how friendly and graceful local people are for all their country's past hardship.
> Bas-Relief Smiling Buddha, The Bayon, Angkor, Cambodia      Abundantly sculpted decoration for temples throughout Angkor, Cambodia and the rest of SE Asia, these visages are plentiful adornments for their huge temple hosts. Treasures in and around the temple complexes have been looted on a grand scale, with most recovered items housed in the National Museum in Phnom Penh. Many of the best specimens from this era are in the Museum or in private collection, if not lost to the carnage of time. Even without some of it's finer artworks, the incredible natural scale of Angkor impresses in ways museum presentation cannot.
> Ta Prom Tree on Temple, Siem Reap, Cambodia      Overrun by nature, or simply an evolving part of it? Just a matter of attitude, perhaps, as Buddhist perspective might find appropriate natural harmony in this mix. Not quite standard tree-house design, with the tree wrapping the structure rather than supporting it, but typical of many pleasant serendipities as jungle and stone uniquely merge in imaginative ways.
> Ta Prom Disrepair, Ta Prom, Angkor, Cambodia      Many major sites at and around Angkor Wat are undergoing structural strengthening and historic restoration, but a mysterious charm accompanies the natural state of many less restored monuments. Beyond escaping the crowds, part of the attraction may be simply the ability to actually cruise these tenuous ruins in a way that would never be allowed in the US due to safety issues. The Cambodians' own unique safety code unveiled itself at more distant ruins I visited, however, where I was told not to venture some places where locals readily walked. Initially I was just told the areas were closed to foreigners, but with persistent questioning was informed of mine danger where clearing operations hadn't yet been completed. The somewhat discomforting perspective was that local lives were all right for the risk, but visitors' lives and limbs were not due to the potentially bad press that might affect tourism dollars if a foreigner were hurt. It was then really my choice whether to go or not, since enforcement was still quite loose once you got past local preference for keeping foreigners grouped. But even if you might object on principal to this different value attributed to lives of locals and foreigners, it's still pretty hard to set out afoot when told not to because of mines. There were a few places I really wanted to go on my own, but deferred without confidence or a trusted guide or with only the incomplete information I was able to gather.
More Friendly Children, In Route to Phnom Kulen, Cambodia     

Perhaps 50 km from Siem Reap but still several hours ride due to road conditions, Phnom Kulen is the highest point in Cambodia (1600 ft), and considered the sacred birthplace of the country. Temples, Buddhas and lingas beckon, along with a nice waterfall for a cooling swim. But the tightly controlled area requires a $20 admission per foreigner to guards at the mountain protecting the entrance for their military mafia bosses. Once you've spent the time and eaten the dust getting there, who's going to turn back without paying? As consolation, smiling children seem everywhere to transform their smile to you.
> More Friendly Children, In Route to Phnom Kulen, Cambodia      Perhaps 50 km from Siem Reap but still several hours ride due to road conditions, Phnom Kulen is the highest point in Cambodia (1600 ft), and considered the sacred birthplace of the country. Temples, Buddhas and lingas beckon, along with a nice waterfall for a cooling swim. But the tightly controlled area requires a $20 admission per foreigner to guards at the mountain protecting the entrance for their military mafia bosses. Once you've spent the time and eaten the dust getting there, who's going to turn back without paying? As consolation, smiling children seem everywhere to transform their smile to you.
More Friendly Children, In Route to Phnom Kulen, Cambodia     

Perhaps 50 km from Siem Reap but still several hours ride due to road conditions, Phnom Kulen is the highest point in Cambodia (1600 ft), and considered the sacred birthplace of the country. Temples, Buddhas and lingas beckon, along with a nice waterfall for a cooling swim. But the tightly controlled area requires a $20 admission per foreigner to guards at the mountain protecting the entrance for their military mafia bosses. Once you've spent the time and eaten the dust getting there, who's going to turn back without paying? As consolation, smiling children seem everywhere to transform their smile to you.
Photo by: photographie-irie · see photo in gallery
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