Ever since I saw the memorizing photos of Angkor Wat (City of Temples) in the May1982 edition of National Geographic, it has been an ambition of mine to see the ruins.  Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world - the temple complex is spread over 400 acres.  Originally constructed by a Khmer King in the early 12th century as a Hindu temple, it was gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple. By the end of the 14th century is was abandoned and largely forgotten. The Angkor ruins were discovered in 1860 by French explorer Henri Mouhot. The story goes - one day he stumbled over a stone Buddha and looked up to see the five acorn-shaped towers of Angkor Wat rising above the trees.

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Angkor used more stone than the Egyptian pyramids combined, and it occupied an area significantly greater than modern-day Paris. Angkor was built with sandstone quarried over 40km away. It's hard to comprehend how something so magnificent and large could be lost to the world for 500 years.  New temples and ruins are being discovered here every year.