Port 21 Con't. Bangkok Thailand & Cambodia

Banteay Kdei
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat









Bayon



Bayon-Guards to the entrance on a bridge.







Bangkok Thailand, March 16

Cruisers on the ship were flown to Bangkok for an overnight at the Four Season’s Hotel. We joined the group – flying from Saigon to Bangkok. The Gilberts, Gene and Inez from Milwaukee, invited us to join in a dinner at the Sirocco. This is a hot spot restaurant on the 64 floor of the LeBac hotel. We were ushered through huge glass doors onto an open windy platform, atop 25 stairs that descended to a series of tables nestled between glass windbreakers. From there we looked up to a spot lit pedestal stage, holding a Jazz Quartet. The meal was exceptionally fine dining.
While many others from the ship would tour Bangkok the next day; we left the hotel at 5:30 in the morning for Cambodia.

March 17th and 18th.

We flew out of the ultra modern Suvarnabhumi airport, just completed last September. Angkor Wat, the Jewel of the 12th century temples dedicated to both Hindu and Buddist gods awaited us. It’s multiple Temple towers were built of huge multi-ton sandstone blocks and then it was intricately carved to display scenes of ancient battles between warring kingdoms; dancing girls protecting the entrances to the sites of the deities and intricately carved pillars and window lattices. This truly rivals the Taj Mahal, where we go next week. We walked through and climbed up the 170-foot high towers, to peer down on avenues and walkways of the inner court. In addition we explored: Ta Prohm where huge gum trees rising from the Temple foundations are pulling the structure apart; Banteay Kdei, a series of striking pink sandstone heavily and beautifully carved structures; the Angkor Thom, with it’s processional and enormous gate flanked by stone figures and then Bayon, where graphic 6 by 4 foot faces depicting Buddhisattva, who helps others, are displayed on enormous towers that face the four cardinal directions.