Early start to the day. Got my scooter then off to Angkor Wat. 

A rather steep climb up to the top and numbers are limited. 

Carried on to Angkor Thom which is huge (Thom means big). More of an estate than simply a temple. Sights included: 

Bayon (with the many faces of the king who created it). My favourite. 

Terrace of the Elephants 

Then a pair of little temples just off the Royal Road – Chau Say Tevoda and, as I was tired and thirsty, I got a diet coke for a dollar and a mango for 2000 riel (half a dollar), and went and sat in Thommanon. Met an English couple who had been travelling for 7 months. Began to rain so ended up stuck there. Thommanon was pretty cute. 

Next Ta Keo – steep, rectangular. Amazing how the temples varied so much. 

And Ta Prohm – overgrown, massive tree roots. Another favourite. 

Then it began to rain again. I hung out with a mango shake until it stopped. Then back to get my rucksack and off to the airport. 

$12 but well worth it. Gave me a bit more of an understanding of some of the elements in the temples.

Like the Naga which appears on balustrades everywhere and in Churning of the Ocean of Milk motifs.

And lots of intricate carving especially on lintels. There’s usually a branch with foliage that goes across the lintel.

Then a big modern day Buddhist temple (Wat Preah Prom Rath) I’d been meaning to visit. Notice the Nagas?!

A great meal at Sister Srey cafe then into town to catch up on emails, etc.

So today I decided to rent a scooter. Yesterday’s tuk tuk driver decided he’d chase me down and see if he could get another trip out of me (my fault for giving a generous tip).  He turned up at the end of the street where I was trying to figure out where the nearest mobile phone shop was. Another younger guy joined him, someone who could speak English better than him, who started bartering prices for tuk tuk hire. When I said I needed a phone cable so needed to go and do that and, anyway, I might just go rent a motorbike (big mistake offering information!), he started offering me deals on renting a motorbike. And when I said no and carried on, a few minutes later another tuk tuk driver started chasing me up the street saying he could take me to a mobile shop and had a motorbike.Clearly the previous driver had phoned ahead! This one was harder to get rid of. Fortunately, there happened to be a mobile phone shop just across the road. I ducked in, got myself (another! the third this trip) iPhone Lightning cable. I don’t think it’s just third party cables that are causing the problem as my genuine cable also started being unreliable. I’m wondering if it’s dust or fluff in the phone socket.

Then back to the motorbike and off on my mega journey.

First, Banteay Srei known for its pink sandstone. This consisted of long passage ways until you got to to the three central stupas all of which was surrounded by a wall with a moat.

 Next Kbal Spean. There was a security guard in the hut who I spoke to briefly before ascending. Kbal Spean, aka the waterfall, was, given the drought, actually probably nicer without all the water as you could see the carvings up close) that was around 1500m. About half way up, I heard a rustling noise. I climbed the ladder to find a team of women sweeping the path ahead. 

Another security guard at the top had taken some time to explain the carvings. Then the heavens opened. My umbrella did not do a great deal other than incrementally decrease my overall wetness. Monsoon rain attacks you from all directions.

When I got to the bottom the guard asked me if I would help him out with his English. Given it was raining I was more than happy to have some shelter. He was 78 and was completely self-taught from an English grammar text book. His written English was surprisingly good. However, his spoken English less so. I suggested using a smartphone to access English resources on the internet but he didn’t have one. I was also going to suggest we kept in touch via email correspondence but given he had no access to the internet that wasn’t an option.

As someone pointed out, we could have simply swapped physical addresses! It had not even crossed my mind. It was almost as if I’d forgotten that kind of correspondence existed any more.

Then back via the Cambodia Landmine museum. I was starving so had the healthiest dish I could find. Fried begetables (sic) and noodles. This turned out to be a pot noodle with a handful of green leaves on top. I had to move tables to avoid the ants that were racing across the table from one edge to the centre where clearly some crumbs had been left.

The landmine museum was a bit of a disappointment. All the mines were protected by plexiglass so you couldn’t take a good picture of them. However, the work that the founder had done, Aki Ra, was very inspirational. From Khmer Rouge soldier making mines to Cambodia army defector finally to landmine de-miner, his was quite an amazing story.

Finally on to Ta Som. Another gem of a temple.



Thursday 26th May
The highlight of my trip to South East Asia – travelling around Angkor Wat. Or more precisely the Siem Reap province because there Angkor Wat is just one of the many temples here.

I started off by hiring a tuk tuk (aka a remork from the French remorque). I could have got a scooter but I wanted to start off with an organised trip so I could organise tickets, etc. Then off visiting temples.

I decided to go to the Roluos group of temples. They predate Angkor Wat and show the origins of how the temples were designed and built. They are mainly Hindu but the later ones are Buddhist.

However, it’s kind of in the same direction to go see the floating village of Kompong Pluk. Unfortunately, whilst it’s now the monsoon season there’s actually been a drought (the dry season) so the water is at very low levels. Which means that the floating village is an 11km ride further along some very bumpy roads. I doubled up cushions by using the one on the seat opposite (one advantage of travelling solo!) and even then it was pretty bone jarring!

Next on to the first temples. Prasat Lolei, Preah Ko and Prasat Bakong. The first two are the oldest and least impressive. However, they’re a great starter. Here are a few pics from Bakong.

and this was at the foot of Bakong:

A theme for today has been electricity. I’m working on my blog in a cafe in Siem Reap and suddenly everything goes black. Turns out this happens regularly in the rainy season.
And it happened again later in the evening. Seems like some businesses are more prepared than others.