Pictures from Angkor Wat

Hi,

It's been a long, long time since my last email. I hope things are going
well for you. I'm doing well here in Cleveland, and will be here for
another rotation of 9 months.

I'm very sad and angry to hear about the terrorist attacks on Bali. Bali
is an awesome place, and the people there are very friendly. Now their
tourism-based economy will be devastated. A while back, I had a chance to
visit Bali. In case you haven't been there yet, here are some of my
pictures:

Bali 1
http://cards.webshots.com/cp-36199074-kGYI-album/16671462kIIXxAGfYP

Bali 2
http://cards.webshots.com/cp-36199074-kGYI-album/16706006JUMgTVEqZY

One day, when it is safe to go there again, I hope you will have a chance
to visit.

Have you ever seen the movie Tomb Raider? Well, a lot of it was filmed at
Angkor Wat, in Cambodia. My college friend Tony Shen went there many years
ago, and after hearing about it, I've always wanted to go. Melissa and I
went there a couple of weeks ago for vacation. One interesting fact is
that everyone there (including the Cambodian visa office at the airport)
uses the U.S. dollar as the currency.

Here are some of the pictures:

Angkor Wat
http://cards.webshots.com/cp-36199074-kGYI-album/12022440IktbbDKtaD

Ta Prohm & Other Sites
http://cards.webshots.com/cp-36199074-kGYI-album/12022525iZqNOKngzo

Kbal Spean & Banteay Srei
http://cards.webshots.com/cp-36199074-kGYI-album/20097740ZrMeFcQVuY

Tonle Sap Lake & Pradak Village
http://cards.webshots.com/cp-36199074-kGYI-album/12022581yCQxCtnxqm

Angkor Wat is located near the town of Siem Reap. That whole area has a
huge number of ruins and sites to see. Angkor Wat itself is the largest
religious structure in the world. It takes quite a while to climb up its
many levels. In addition to the tall stone towers, it is also known for
its intricate carvings.

In the second album, one of the best sites is "Ta Prohm", which is a
Buddhist ruin that is overrun by a few very large trees. The trees grow
right through the stone ruins. This album also contain pictures of Bayon,
Angkor Thom, and other sites in the area.

The third album features Banteay Srei and Kbal Spean. Our guide first
drove us to Kbal Spean (right past Banteay Srei), which is the River of a
Thousand Lingas. Buddhist monks carved stone carvings into the river
rocks. Driving there was an adventure. Most of it was on a muddy road
filled with large mud potholes, waiting for oxen to cross, and passing an
occasional pickup truck filled with people. Then it takes a long hike up a
steep trail to reach the site. The area is safe today, but only a few
years ago, it was controlled by the Khmer Rouge. In fact, you can see some
of the caves where they lived. Banteay Srei is a temple ruin about 15
miles north of the Angkor Wat area. It is a smaller scale temple, but it's
pink stone and detailed carvings are very interesting.

The fourth album features the Pradak village, nearby fields, and a cruise
on the Tonle Sap lake. The villagers live in very primitive huts raised on
stilts. On the ground level live cattle or other animals. Everywhere we
see kids swimming in water holes. The cruise on the lake was very
interesting. One of the highlights was seeing a floating church on the
lake, in the middle of the floating village. Many Cambodians and
Vietnamese live on small boats on the lake. The lake is used for swimming,
bathing, washing clothes, washing food, waste removal, etc. People even
raise pigs on a floating platform on the lake. We wondered how sanitary is
it to live on this lake.

Melissa and I had a good time on this trip. We are reminded of just how
fortunate we are and how God has blessed us with so much. We also see the
tremendous need for God in this area.

Please write and let me know what you've been up to. Let me know if you
have a new mailing address, email address, job, etc.

Take care and keep in touch!

-Josh.

440-884-1623 (H)
216-676-2713 (W)