Siem Reap
In May 2013 Colin visited Siem Reap in Cambodia, famous for the Angkor temples. "Siem Reap" literally means "Siam defeated" in Khmer, and town was built provocatively near the border to wage war against Siam (Thailand). But in the greatest "f-you" in history, Siam promptly invaded and conquered Cambodia, and kept the name of the town the same, whilst flying the Siamese flag there for the next 300 years.
The Angkor temples themselves are spectacular. Angkor Wat is the most famous, although not in Colin's opinion the most striking. Lonely Planet travel guide says that if instead of 500 places, you only ever visit three places before you die, they should be Machu Picchu, Petra and Angkor, and that is not bad advice. The temples are very hard to photograph and capture both their majesty (they are massive) and the intricacy of the detail (the reliefs show eyelashes on the people and patterns on the shirts). Colin only had time to visit Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm.
The Angkor temples themselves are spectacular. Angkor Wat is the most famous, although not in Colin's opinion the most striking. Lonely Planet travel guide says that if instead of 500 places, you only ever visit three places before you die, they should be Machu Picchu, Petra and Angkor, and that is not bad advice. The temples are very hard to photograph and capture both their majesty (they are massive) and the intricacy of the detail (the reliefs show eyelashes on the people and patterns on the shirts). Colin only had time to visit Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm.