The largest religious building in the world, Angkor Wat, contains intricate stone carvings, wide vistas of the surrounding jungle, beautiful symmetry, peaceful gardens, a creation of immense proportions. The pictures are famous. Perhaps you’ve seen the sunrise, or the crumbling rocks, the dancing nude ladies or the growling lions, but, I bet you never saw these pictures! I decided to surprise tourists with impromptu portraits during a break in the shade. Some are happy to be involved, others not interested, some don’t notice, others skeptical of my intentions. I didn’t ask where they were from, but that might have been a fun test to see what country in this random sampling was most represented, but my guess is there may not be any repeats.

I had a great time with this little project. Some people asked me, “Why?” I replied, “Everyone knows what Angkor Wat looks like, not everybody knows what you look like!” They are all on vacation, some fulfilling a life-long dream to stand and gaze at the magnificence of these 11th century sandstone towers. Some are making a religious pilgrimage. Some are just sweating profusely. But no one was rude or curt. I thanked all who participated in this little lark.

And here are some actual photos of the temple in case you don’t know what it looks like!