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[click on images to enlarge]
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A short flight into Siem Reap was our last stop on our tour. Home of Angkor Wat and the recent location for the upcoming Tomb Raider movie I was looking forward to our visit. Unfortunately my stomach had other plans for me and I ended up spending most of our stay in our hotel room. We
visited Angkor Thom and the Temple of Bayan after a brief stop at the
gate. These beautiful temples swarmed with tourists arriving on
the back of motorcycles, buses or cars. Each was eagerly approached
by various peddlers of copied books, postcards, Cokes, woven bracelets
and flutes. Amongst the temple ruins were those that knew first
hand the damage that is still done by the Khmer Rouge. 1 in 286
Cambodians are amputees versus 1 in 22,000 in the United States.
Plastic bombs that were planted along roads or in fields were never marked
by the Khmer Rouge and are still being discovered today by those that
try to make their living in this country. So at various bends along
the temples there would be those missing limbs waiting for a donation
after crying out 'Madame, Madame' or 'Sir, Sir.'
Angkor
Wat was our destination after lunch. Very steep stairs was the route
to the top and was only for those with small feet and without vertigo.
Unfortunately for us it was overcast so we didn't have much of a view
of the sunset.
We
took a Tuk Tuk into town for dinner at Chivat Thai. Our waiter was
a young 18 year old who only had eyes for Robert. When he asked
us our names he said 'Robert,
oh a sweet, sweet name'. I
think we received a free appetizer out of this as he would come to our
table and gaze longingly at Robert. This was one of our best
meals, as Cambodia is not known for their culinary prowess.
The
next day, Robert went to the Jungle Temple & Pre Rup Temples while
I watched CNN and spent quality time in our cricket filled bathroom.
We
made arrangements for a car to Banteay Srei (on the next day) as we had
rescheduled our flight to Bangkok to the evening. Dinner was had
with our guide and his young wife. Afterwards we stopped at the
opulent Grand Hotel d'Angkor with its wooden elevator and immense swimming
pool.
Robert
and our guide made the trip to Banteay Srei. The road out there
was the highlight of the trip and unfortunately he lost a roll of film.
Banteay Srei is the women's temple with many stone carvings that are well
preserved.
Before our trip to the airport we stopped at Les Artisans D'Angkor, which is a training facility for carving, silk weaving and lacquer. In quick purchase mode, I picked out a silk wrap dress, purses and cards. Then it was off to the airport and back to Bangkok before our reluctant trip home. Feel free to email me with your comments about these photos and weblog! geckos@anna-lincoln.com |
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