Kicked off the day by forgetting my pass!! Added 18 km to my day but no worries it's flat like a pancake here.
Stopped at a site I missed yesterday, Prasat Cravan. Lovely buff coloured brick with beautiful bas reliefs in one of the five standing towers.
Then on to Pre Rup with brick and stone - a "mountain" type temple so some steep steps to climb. It started raining lightly - not quite the downpour that the weather had called for. There were some nice views over the trees from the top terrace.
Got off track again and was headed out to Banteay Srei (tomorrow's destination) when I came across this little "still life with cow" scene:
Found my way to Eastern Mebon another "mountain" temple. This one is not so high as is was originally accessible only by water and it's speculated that there was concern over the bearing capacity of the soil. Elephant sculptures perched at the 4 corners of 2 terraces.
A lady I saw on my wrong turn caught up with me with her water buffalo as I was leaving - I love the sleek look of their horns. Heading on from there I passed through some vibrant green rice fields planted in the old baray (kind of a dyked reservoir.)
Short stop at Ta Som where some killer tree was taking over.
Neak Pean, not to be confused with Peak Frean was delightful even though is was mostly gated off. This used to be an island temple in the middle of a baray. Not sure if it's just a low water time or if the baray has disappeared. A 250m boardwalk connected to the remains of the walled pools. At the center the sanctuary sits on an open lotus flower and is (was) guarded by two serpents.
As at a few other sites a group of musicians who are landmine survivors roused themselves in the heat of the day to play for passers by. Nice ambiance.
Preah Khan was the next and penultimate for the day. Stopped and bought some mini bananas (safe food choice) and watched a woman trim a pineapple ready to eat without touching it with her hands.
It is a huge site, single story with killer trees and some lovely bas reliefs. I keep wondering how anyone actually found these sites after the jungle started to set in. It must have been so eerie to stumble across these ruins that had been swallowed.
Some very nice bas relief courtyards here too.
I was almost 3p so I stopped at a food stand that the tuk tuk drivers use - they drop their fares and go and snooze around these spots till the appointed time. A lady flagged me down and I asked to see a menu. In response to my query about shrimp and whether they cooked everything fresh she said no to shrimp because it's too hot to store properly without fridges and that yes, her kitchen was right back there behind some tables and hammocks. I got fried rice just in case - these restaurants a really just canopies with dirt floors and sometime chickens wander in. A series of restaurants are lined up next to each other in a single space. They are wire though for lights and fans. As soon as you sit down someone will come and flip a switch on over your table. Nice lunch, simple and tasty. Had a cold beer as I'm overdone with pop.
Fortified, I headed south to the jewel of temples, Angkor Wat proper. Passing through Angkor Thom I passed a huge troop of shifty looking monkeys. The babies had evil little mohawk hair licks. Like with the children selling postcards, I didn't make eye contact.
I must say that up until I set foot on the Angkor Wat causeway That I was spoiled with relative solitude at the less popular, yet no less fascinating, sites. HOARDS of people - gawkers - were there. I satisfied myself with a "perimeter check" just to get oriented. The place is huge and hugely ornate.
It is a "mountain" type temple with a series of walled terraces accessed by steep stairs. The highest level has a central tower and four smaller towers at the corners. Will save that level for another day. There was a long lineup and a 15 minute time limit at the top. At the second level there has to be a full kilometer of bas reliefs. It deserves much more time and attention than I could spare today so I'll work in another afternoon somewhere.
As I was walking along the southwest section of bas reliefs a tour guide stopped me to ask if I had injured myself and if I were okay. I was sporting a smeared imprint of the front gear wheel on the inside of my right calf as I usually do - guess it looked really bad. I explained what it was, thanked him for his concern and believe that my leg was surreptitiously photographed by his entire Korean tour group.
I watched some gorgeous youngsters dolled up in traditional dance wear posing with tourists then packed it in and headed back to my guesthouse, all the while marveling at the mindfulness of the nutty drivers and how everyone accommodates each other without angry horn blowing. Driving on a scooter with 10 foot long boards sideways, no worries shift to the right...On coming traffic in your lane? No worries, shift to the left - they are obviously going to turn right! From what I've seen these past 3 days,road rage is beneath Cambodians or at least Siem Reap-ians.
Wanted a cold drink when I got back into town so stopped at a Mexican place for some happy hour margaritas and some enchiladas. I broke both my rules about eating dairy and salad in a tropical country but it was sooooo good.
Tomorrow I have a tuk tuk and a guide for the day for a couple of outlying sites. Fun!
Today's route 62.58 km: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/245923090
Stopped at a site I missed yesterday, Prasat Cravan. Lovely buff coloured brick with beautiful bas reliefs in one of the five standing towers.
Then on to Pre Rup with brick and stone - a "mountain" type temple so some steep steps to climb. It started raining lightly - not quite the downpour that the weather had called for. There were some nice views over the trees from the top terrace.
Got off track again and was headed out to Banteay Srei (tomorrow's destination) when I came across this little "still life with cow" scene:
Found my way to Eastern Mebon another "mountain" temple. This one is not so high as is was originally accessible only by water and it's speculated that there was concern over the bearing capacity of the soil. Elephant sculptures perched at the 4 corners of 2 terraces.
A lady I saw on my wrong turn caught up with me with her water buffalo as I was leaving - I love the sleek look of their horns. Heading on from there I passed through some vibrant green rice fields planted in the old baray (kind of a dyked reservoir.)
Short stop at Ta Som where some killer tree was taking over.
Neak Pean, not to be confused with Peak Frean was delightful even though is was mostly gated off. This used to be an island temple in the middle of a baray. Not sure if it's just a low water time or if the baray has disappeared. A 250m boardwalk connected to the remains of the walled pools. At the center the sanctuary sits on an open lotus flower and is (was) guarded by two serpents.
As at a few other sites a group of musicians who are landmine survivors roused themselves in the heat of the day to play for passers by. Nice ambiance.
Preah Khan was the next and penultimate for the day. Stopped and bought some mini bananas (safe food choice) and watched a woman trim a pineapple ready to eat without touching it with her hands.
It is a huge site, single story with killer trees and some lovely bas reliefs. I keep wondering how anyone actually found these sites after the jungle started to set in. It must have been so eerie to stumble across these ruins that had been swallowed.
Some very nice bas relief courtyards here too.
I was almost 3p so I stopped at a food stand that the tuk tuk drivers use - they drop their fares and go and snooze around these spots till the appointed time. A lady flagged me down and I asked to see a menu. In response to my query about shrimp and whether they cooked everything fresh she said no to shrimp because it's too hot to store properly without fridges and that yes, her kitchen was right back there behind some tables and hammocks. I got fried rice just in case - these restaurants a really just canopies with dirt floors and sometime chickens wander in. A series of restaurants are lined up next to each other in a single space. They are wire though for lights and fans. As soon as you sit down someone will come and flip a switch on over your table. Nice lunch, simple and tasty. Had a cold beer as I'm overdone with pop.
Fortified, I headed south to the jewel of temples, Angkor Wat proper. Passing through Angkor Thom I passed a huge troop of shifty looking monkeys. The babies had evil little mohawk hair licks. Like with the children selling postcards, I didn't make eye contact.
I must say that up until I set foot on the Angkor Wat causeway That I was spoiled with relative solitude at the less popular, yet no less fascinating, sites. HOARDS of people - gawkers - were there. I satisfied myself with a "perimeter check" just to get oriented. The place is huge and hugely ornate.
It is a "mountain" type temple with a series of walled terraces accessed by steep stairs. The highest level has a central tower and four smaller towers at the corners. Will save that level for another day. There was a long lineup and a 15 minute time limit at the top. At the second level there has to be a full kilometer of bas reliefs. It deserves much more time and attention than I could spare today so I'll work in another afternoon somewhere.
As I was walking along the southwest section of bas reliefs a tour guide stopped me to ask if I had injured myself and if I were okay. I was sporting a smeared imprint of the front gear wheel on the inside of my right calf as I usually do - guess it looked really bad. I explained what it was, thanked him for his concern and believe that my leg was surreptitiously photographed by his entire Korean tour group.
I watched some gorgeous youngsters dolled up in traditional dance wear posing with tourists then packed it in and headed back to my guesthouse, all the while marveling at the mindfulness of the nutty drivers and how everyone accommodates each other without angry horn blowing. Driving on a scooter with 10 foot long boards sideways, no worries shift to the right...On coming traffic in your lane? No worries, shift to the left - they are obviously going to turn right! From what I've seen these past 3 days,road rage is beneath Cambodians or at least Siem Reap-ians.
Wanted a cold drink when I got back into town so stopped at a Mexican place for some happy hour margaritas and some enchiladas. I broke both my rules about eating dairy and salad in a tropical country but it was sooooo good.
Tomorrow I have a tuk tuk and a guide for the day for a couple of outlying sites. Fun!
Today's route 62.58 km: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/245923090
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