Temple Mania: Nepal Edition: Himalayan Temples

Temples galore in these hills.  Early on in the trek you find many Nepalese Buddhist temples and monasteries, but quickly something changes and you find that most of the locales that you meet are Tibetan and Sherpa (as in the people, not the mountain guides).  You soon find stone tablets, walls, and boulders inscribed with Buddhist prayers called mani walls on the sides and in the middle of the trails (Remember: pass on the left).  Most of these walls are inscribed with the same prayer, on mani padme hum.  The same prayer you will hear the Sherpa and Tibetans chant while spinning the many prayer wheels you pass along your way.  If you make it up to Khumjung and you have the time to head over to the local monastery you can find what the monks claim is a yeti skull... Ha! Looks like an upturned hairy cereal bowl to me.  None the less, our sherpa is a believer and its worth a visit.  The same monastery has an uber giant prayer wheel in a room with intricate wall paintings centuries older than the United States itself.

Temple Mania: Nepal Edition: Swayambhunath

I have a love hate relationship with monkeys.  On one hand they are probably one of the most interesting creatures to watch and interact with and they are always up to wacky hijinks, but on the other hand they are always  up to wacky hijinks and may actually be ta manifestation of pure evil keeping check on those holy monks inhabiting these temples.  Hold on to your sunglasses, leave your valuables in the car, and watch your back because the next stop is the monkey temple, Swayambhunath, overlooking all of Kathmandu on its highest peak.

Temple Mania: Nepal Edition: Boudhanath

Why not pregame our Himalayan trek with some temple exploration. First up, a Tibetan temple in the semi-autonomous Boudha section of Kathmandu... Boudhanath.

Temple Mania: Cambodia Edition: In high dynamic range

I usually do not condone the overuse of high dynamic range, but Angkor deserves it...

 

Temple Mania: Cambodia Edition: Agkor Wat

We woke up at 4:30 on this day and walked out to our tuk-tuk in the pitch black.  It was an awesome ride out in the cool air and we got to this morning's temple just as some light could be seen over the horizon.  No trip to Cambodia is complete without a sunrise at Angkor Wat.  All together the Cambodian Angkor temple complexes is one of the biggest in the world as well as oldest.  Angkor Wat is an amazing set of structures surrounded by a moat that is more like a Great Lake than anything else.  It is really the most impressive temple complex as well as the most impressive structure I have seen that was built by human hands.

Temple Mania: Cambodia Edition: Agkor Thom

My second favorite of the Angkor complex is Angkor Thom.  It was one of the longest sustaining capitals of the Khmer empire and was home to more than 100,00 people.  It was built by one of the most narcissistic kings in Cambodian history.  Why carve your face in stone once when you can carve it thousands of times?  And that is what this temple is so photographed for, its stone faces resembling that of the king.  This site was also widely used in Tomb Raider.

Temple Mania: Cambodia Edition: Bante Samreay

This temple has the finest and most detailed stone carving in all of Cambodia.  It was said to have been built by women, because men could have never carved in such great detail.  Small temple, far from the rest, but very cool carvings.  This temple is also one of the best preserved with a great exhibit on the grounds explaining the history of the temple as well as the language and people of the time.

Temple Mania: Cambodia Edition: Ta Prohm

Probably one of the most photographed temples in Cambodia is Ta Prohm, because it is the only temple that the Cambodians have left somewhat untouched to show the power of nature as it overtakes and consumes the structures in the complex.  It was widely used in the film Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie for its out of this world appearance.  This site really gives you a sense of how industrious man can be while illustrating how powerful nature remains... just get here early to avoid the bus loads of Japanese tourists clicking away.

Temple Mania: Cambodia Edition: Sunset temple

Sunrise at Angkor Wat is the place to be, and for sunset there are some cool options as well.  Climb all the way to the top and you get an awesome panoramic of the countryside.

Temple Mania: Cambodia Edition: The rest

Yet some more pics from some other temples in the Angkor complex...