Angkor Wat

Cambodia was the least anticipated stop on the tour for me. It surprised me. I expected Angkor Wat to be a large, decaying, imposing, ancient structure. Instead it was a large, decaying, MEDIEVAL structure that was also inspiring, compelling and marvelously symmetrical. The place has it's own gravitational field. I felt pulled into its very center. Getting there was rewarded with striking views on the four cardinal points, each one a succession of doorways gaining in size like so many babushka dolls. I was hypnotized.

The highly selective breakfast club held their meeting at the reflecting pool at sunrise. Well done, friends.
The Raffles Hotel sure knows how to put on a show. We had a gorgeous native dance performance during our dinner. After the show, we got a photo with the performers. Don't we look like giants compared to the dancers?
At the tail end of the night, Tamara, Judy and I trekked on foot to the Night Market in Siem Reap. Because it was a holiday, the water festival, many of the vendors were closing early. Despite that, we managed to find something to buy. The walk there and back close to midnight was most of the the fun. On the way back, we caught the fireworks from a park across from our hotel. By then it was dark and the park was unlit so for that time, we actually blended in with the locals.

Lastly, and there's no picture for this one, I got the best massage EVER! I needed it.