This gatehouse sits on one side of the moat of Angkor Wat. We were not supposed to be inside the gate this late but my monk friend has some pull with the locals.

Sunset on a hilltop near Angkor Wat.

Monks at Angkor Wat…

This was shot outside the defensive gatehouse of Angkor Wat with a backdrop of the moat in the distance. I also used the new technique here that I will be detailing in an upcoming tutorial. This is an HDR shot, which you can read about in my previous tutorial here.

Here is a male monkey and his mate relaxing near an ancient naga at the ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

This is the first shot from a new upcoming tutorial that describes some new techniques with which I am experimenting.  I hope you like it!

The picture I posted yesterday was not of the real Mount Everest… it was of Disneyworld. I thought someone would notice but I guess it was too tricky! I’ve never been to Everest… I bet the pictures would hardly ever be that clear.

Below is a picture of the main temple at Angkor Wat just after sunrise:

Angkor Wat is filled with hundreds of ancient old tombs, rooms, and chambers of various design. This is taken from inside the quincunx of the main temple, while a monk stood silently just outside the doorway during his morning devotions.

I think they always tell people it is the rainy season, but it certainly was the rainy season while I was there. The locals claim that it really cooled things off, but what is the difference between 98 degrees and 96 degrees, I asked?

It was so hot that my Nikon was sweating, so when the rain actually dropped, my camera became more dry.

There may be a place hotter than Cambodia, but it’s guarded by the river Styx.

Speaking of supernatural post-life hangouts, the extreme heat of Cambodia made me contemplate that the cold apres-ruin shower is closer to Nirvana than my Buddhist friend here will ever achieve.

That is Sokhoun there wearing a fetching summer ensemble of dark red robes. He has 6 different color robes that he wears on different occasions. I assume these occasions are more or less dictated by whichever robe is the least sweaty.

I spent the entire day from with Sokhoun, a Theravada Buddhist monk and now a good friend (and email buddy!). It’s a long story I will tell later.

But at the end of the day, we went into Angkor Wat for sunset. The guards made everyone else leave, but Sokhoun and I went around the backside of temple to watch the sunset by ourselves. The local security guards lets the monks do whatever they want, of course.

As we were walking around the temple grounds, we came across this old library just as the sun was dipping below the evening storm clouds.