An early morning visit to Angkor Wat will leave anyone in awe. Any visit to Cambodia’s Siem Reap will leave you with a lasting impression. Impressed by the courage of the Khmer people who suffered the terror of a regime that tried to destroy their civilization. Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples are the largest largest religious monuments in the world.

Built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century, the one predominant themes at the temples are Apsaras. Those beautiful, supernatural female beings, the spirit of the clouds and waters, their elixir of immortality.

They come in all walks and types, is she Pocahontas or an Apsara, neither. I am perplexed whenever I see people dressing up, and visiting a holy temple in a costume – just weird.

The Apsara’s are youthful elegant and superb in the art of dancing for the Heavens. They are often the wives of the Gandharvas, who inhabit the skies often depicted taking flight at service of a god. Compared to angels and poised ready to dance or as temple guardians.

We always discover something new when visiting Angkor Wat. It’s a place that intrigues most visitors, and for those fortunate to visit here several times, they begin to get a sense of the depth of culture and spirituality that’s transformed here over the last 800 years.