On the Road to Angkor

In a unique chronicle, Margret Hargreaves-Allen travels across South East Asia, exploring the ancient and contemporary landscapes of Buddhism, and the link between the two. Visiting both lesser-known and notable temples, she follows the now-vanished "Royal Way", the long route of Khmer temples that leads from the middle of present-day Thailand all the way to Angkor itself. Her journey takes her from Bangkok to north and south Thailand, into Laos and Cambodia, and ultimately to Buddhism's source in India. Part reflection, part narrative, her journey leads the reader from diverse monuments such as Wat Phu, Khao Phra Viharn and Angkor, to Ajanta and Ellora in India, and to many more. The author's insights into the temples eschew a conventional academic appreciation. Instead, a sense of wonder at the temples' survival is qualified by a culturally unbiased observation of life in a modern Buddhist country. At the culmination of the journey the narrative takes on a more personal dimension, when an unforeseeable event momentarily fuses the ancient and modern practices of Buddhism. The result is a book that will inspire a renewed appreciation of the subtleties of Buddhist life and art, a book which will inspire travellers both familiar and unfamiliar with Thailand and the temples.