The temple of Angkor Wat was dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu.  The temple faces west, a tribute to death.

A second shot taken during my most recent trip to Angkor Wat.  The sun had risen, but the cloud coverage was still quite heavy – not ideal, but still beautiful.

I’ve been to Angkor Wat quite a few times – the last couple have had less than desirable conditions at sunrise.  But this past month I was able to go again and got some better shots.  Here is one of them (taken before sunrise).  It was also the first time it had rained while the sun was rising, which added an interesting element to the shot.

This is another infrared shot taken at Angkor Wat of the northern library where many believe palm-leaf manuscripts were held.  The documents are all but gone, but the sandstone structure remains.

This was my first try at infrared photography – it was a little challenging shooting in the dark (the infrared filter is so dark nothing is visible except with a long exposure), but a lot of fun.  Ta Prohm was one of my target locations as it has the perfect mixture of man and vegetation for just awesome looking shots.  I left this shot red because I thought it added dramatic effect.  More to come!

While Cambodia is currently Buddhist, when Angkor Wat was built, the country was Hindu.  Angkor Wat was dedicated to the god Vishnu who is pictured here.  Many times elderly people take up the task of cleaning and caring for the various idols in Angkor Wat in exchange for food and money given by worshipers.

Sunrise at Angkor Wat is a must if you ever get a chance to visit.  The day of this photo it was quite cloudy, but that made this photo quite dramatic.

I met this man up inside Angkor Wat.  His job is to make sure the floors are clean.  We exchanged greetings and I asked him a question about an inscription I read in one of the carvings on the temple wall (specifically about Preah Se-Ah Metrei, a promised coming savior in the Buddhist scriptures).  Because the language is some type of Old Khmer, most of it cannot be read, but I was suprised to find that certain religious words can be made out.  I asked him after talking if I could take his picture, he obliged, and there is the result.

A Buddhist nun watching over an idol, making money selling incense in the Angkor Wat temple complex.  While women are not ordained within Buddhism, older women, especially widows, can become nuns. They live in their local wat and many take care of the grounds, or in this case, Angkor Wat.  They shave their heads and eyebrows and generally follow the same precepts as monks.  It is almost like a welfare system, for nuns are almost universally destitute.

Angkor Wat was built early in the 12th century by Suryavaram II, honors the Hindu god Vishnu and is a symbolic representation of Mt. Meru of Hindu mythology.  This shot was taken just as you enter the main complex.  And while this ancient temple was built to a Hindu god, today Buddhists actively worship, burning incense and offering prayers to the idols contained within its walls.  Pray that the Lord would bring the people of Cambodia to see Him alone as the One true God, and that they would be saved through faith in Jesus Christ.