An old woman sat by the gates of Angkor Wat, begging. She had no hands, and no feet.

I didn't take a photo, because I couldn't. Now I'm regretting it; some things should never be forgotten.

The Khmer Rouge tortured and killed over 2 million Cambodians--some directly, some of starvation. She was one of the "lucky ones"--she survived..

I don't understand how one person could do that to another...I just don't.

A child victim of landmines. Amputee beggars are very common in the ruins.

The U.S. is not signatory to the International Treaty to Ban Landmines --to help change this, see http://www.banminesusa.org/ .

A boy with leprosy (?). His face was literally rotting away.

I gave him 1000 riel, or about $0.25--enough to buy two loaves of bread.

Here's a photo I wish I'd taken: the leper boy and the amputee girl chattering happily to each other, as the leper boy munched on a sweet pastry. The essence of the human spirit: finding joy, even in the worst conditions.

Frank, my fellow tourist, being mobbed by child vendors. "Sir, buy postcard?" "Madam, cold drink?"

They were very, very, very cute.

A lingam-yoni shrine at Preah Khan. The pillar is a lingam (phallic symbol), and the pedestal it rests in a yoni (female symbol). Water is poured over the lingam, which then runs out through the spout at front, producing holy water.

This lingam is in three sections, representing the three Hindu gods Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma: the first section is round, the second octagonal, the third rectangular. I've forgotten which gods correspond to which section, though.

This is the interior of the central shrine at Preah Khan. Notice how the walls are riddled with holes: gold and diamond decorations once encrusted the walls, to reflect light coming in from above.

Most of the important shrines at Angkor are like that, too. One can only imagine the glories that must have been there, at the height of the Angkor Empire...

This is Srah Srang, called "the king's bath" in Angkor inscriptions. I hope they were joking: it's three-quarters of a kilometer (750m) by 350 meters, and was originally about ten feet deep. It was dug out by hand during the reign of Rajendravarman, in the mid-tenth century.

It's nice to be king!

The Leper King Terrace, a mazelike structure with detailed carvings in the walls.

In the maze, I heard a piping, and tracked it to its source: a man with no legs, playing a pipe. Landmine victims are unfortunately extremely common in Cambodia; about 1 in 250 Cambodians has lost a limb to landmines, and there are still plenty left.

A naga in Angkor Wat. These are cobra-like serpents with five to nine heads, a major symbol in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Buddha is often depicted under a naga with seven heads.

I'm jealous; my snakes have only one head apiece...