Growing up, I was taught Columbus discovered America. Wait a minute, wasn’t there indigenous tribes living in America? Shouldn’t the same hold true for Cambodia?
Explorers have come to this county over a century and claimed discoveries, and recently a new laser imaging system has been reported to find a lost city.
I imagine if you trace Khmer family trees, they will date back to the times when elephants were used in the construction of the temples. The locals have lived among their heritage since it was constructed.
Many people still live with the temples in their back yards and many live not much differently than their ancestors.
Cambodia has opened up and the tourism industry has grown exponentially exploiting the rich heritage the country has to offer. Here is glimpse of people that live among this rich heritage; some with, and some with out the benefit of the growing tourism industry.
The first picture a girl retrieves water from a man made pond at Preah Theat in Kampong Cham Province. She makes several trips to the pond to water her garden.
In the second picture, traditional musicians play for donations on the grounds of Bakong Temple, at the Rolous Group in Siem Reap.
In the Angkor Complex, children peer from their enclave behind ancient walls. With luck they will learn English and make a living in the only neighborhood they will probably ever know. Pic 3
Children play in the pool of water that surrounds Bayon. Pic 4
At Preah Vihear Temple in the North Central part of the country, a vendor and her family wait for customers. Preah Vihear temple on the Thai-Cambodia border has been a focal point for tensions between the two countries. Both sides have used the temple for political pandering. The temple is currently only open from the Cambodian side. Pic 5
In the sixth picture a girl rides her bike past Banteay Top Temple on her way to retrieve water from an adjacent reservoir.
Only nine kilometers to the north, girls bathe and do laundry in the moat surrounding Banteay Chmar temple. Pic 7
Along the Angkor highway somewhere in the middle between Siem Reap and the border, these farmers on this ancient bridge have never seen tourist, and probably won’t see them again. Pic 8
The farmer in the ninth photo has this site in his back yard. He told us it is one of five temples that once made up Prey Nokor site south east of Kampong Cham. Two standing prasats are in a wat complex about 100 meters away, and the other two of the five were destroyed during battles during the Khmer Rouge.
In the last picture, children play at an ancient Hindu temple near Phnom Da, outside of the sixth century town of Angkor Borei. Angkor Borei is South of Phnom Penh in Takeo Province near the Vietnam border. In the wet season, one can catch a boat down an ancient canal from the town of Takeo to the site.
Explorers have come to this county over a century and claimed discoveries, and recently a new laser imaging system has been reported to find a lost city.
I imagine if you trace Khmer family trees, they will date back to the times when elephants were used in the construction of the temples. The locals have lived among their heritage since it was constructed.
Many people still live with the temples in their back yards and many live not much differently than their ancestors.
Cambodia has opened up and the tourism industry has grown exponentially exploiting the rich heritage the country has to offer. Here is glimpse of people that live among this rich heritage; some with, and some with out the benefit of the growing tourism industry.
The first picture a girl retrieves water from a man made pond at Preah Theat in Kampong Cham Province. She makes several trips to the pond to water her garden.
In the second picture, traditional musicians play for donations on the grounds of Bakong Temple, at the Rolous Group in Siem Reap.
In the Angkor Complex, children peer from their enclave behind ancient walls. With luck they will learn English and make a living in the only neighborhood they will probably ever know. Pic 3
Children play in the pool of water that surrounds Bayon. Pic 4
At Preah Vihear Temple in the North Central part of the country, a vendor and her family wait for customers. Preah Vihear temple on the Thai-Cambodia border has been a focal point for tensions between the two countries. Both sides have used the temple for political pandering. The temple is currently only open from the Cambodian side. Pic 5
In the sixth picture a girl rides her bike past Banteay Top Temple on her way to retrieve water from an adjacent reservoir.
Only nine kilometers to the north, girls bathe and do laundry in the moat surrounding Banteay Chmar temple. Pic 7
Along the Angkor highway somewhere in the middle between Siem Reap and the border, these farmers on this ancient bridge have never seen tourist, and probably won’t see them again. Pic 8
The farmer in the ninth photo has this site in his back yard. He told us it is one of five temples that once made up Prey Nokor site south east of Kampong Cham. Two standing prasats are in a wat complex about 100 meters away, and the other two of the five were destroyed during battles during the Khmer Rouge.
In the last picture, children play at an ancient Hindu temple near Phnom Da, outside of the sixth century town of Angkor Borei. Angkor Borei is South of Phnom Penh in Takeo Province near the Vietnam border. In the wet season, one can catch a boat down an ancient canal from the town of Takeo to the site.