RUINS OF ANGKOR

India has a proud history of exploration. For centuries, saints, scholars and traders traversing land and sea, stretched their horizons. Their achievements never led to commercial exploitation or ruthless colonization - but to a momentous meeting of cultures and creation of new knowledge. Borobudur and Perambanan in Java, Sukhothai and Ayuthya in Thailand, Bagan and Pegu in Myanmar, and Angkor in Cambodia are living testimonies to the Indian cultural influences that led to the establishment of great kingdoms and civilizations in Southeast Asia. These were not mere metropolises but capitals fit for the world – utopias of perpetual growth and unlimited wealth, glittering with lavish temples, Olympic stadiums, sprawling courses and other job-creating public projects – until liabilities dwarfed national output and contributed to the fall of their decorous empires. In scale and ambition Angkor overshadows its related temple towns. As you walk with the author through the silent, battered temples of Angkor, the ruins come to life, resplendent with hallowed celestial beings. The witty account is embellished with his revisionist views of Cambodia’s ancient history, modern politics – and distressing massage.

With 54 color illustrations.