Encore Angkor
(still in Ho Chi Minh City)

Okay, so I took more than 400 photos at Angkor. The first day I listened with half an ear to the guide, and focused instead on light, composition, and battery life (I went throught two and a half batteries the first day). The second day we didn't even hire a guide, and just traipsed from site to site waiting for the sun to offer a promising shot.

Looking through the digital contact sheet each night, searching for my own award-winning wall-displaying masterpiece, I felt... disappointed. A few decent shots, but mostly washed out stone and ordinary trees. These three represent notable exceptions.

On the first day, our guide took us to a smallish temple north of Bayon called Palay Lai. A few trees grow from the temple entrance, so I circled the temple with my camera snapping some photos. My hand started itching, usually heralding another mosquito bite, so I put the camera down to survey the damage. There was no mosquito -- instead a yellow butterfly had perched on my forearm, gently flapping its wings to keep balance. I held it up to try to snap a picture, but it flew away before I could get to the camera. Then, even as I cursed my luck, it came back! It alighted on my hand and I took this photo before it flew off again a moment later.

Bella took this photo in Preah Kahn, a poorly preserved temple overrun with awesome trees. She's looking over my shoulder as I write and is making fun of me because I said that the butterfly "alighted" on my hand. She insists that I call this an awesome tree. Actually, it is pretty awesome.

We caught these monks by Tah Prohm, another temple consumed by the jungle. Monks are awesome.