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Looking out over Srah Srang
We were told there used to be a temple at the centre of this huge lake ... We are having a rest day today, after completing the three day pass to the temples. Tiring but good!
We went to see some Apsara dancing on the evening of the 11th. We went to a restaurant for a buffet meal and the dancing show was for about an hour. Total cost was 12 US dollars for the buffet - the dancing was good but the food was not that brilliant! At least we can say we have seen some traditional dancing! We then made our way to Pub Street where we chilled out having a few beers (and yes, I still like beer but I am sure when I get home I'll go off the stuff again!).
On the second day of the 3 day pass, we went round the big loop, yesterday was the small loop. I won't bore you with the history, as I would have to type pages and pages, but we have a book so when we come back and if anyone is interested we will lend you the book! Places we visited were Preah Khan (monastic complex), Neak Pean (small island temple), Ta Som (monastic complex), East Mebon (temple-mountain-like ruin) and Pre
Banteay Srey
About 20km away from the main Angkor area (further than you think in a moped drawn cart on dirt roads) is Banteay Srey. Famed for the reason its intricate stone carvings are almost entirely intact... Rup (temple mountain). All impressive but very similar in style to those we saw on the first day.
There is a site
here which has a decent map and overview, or there is always the amazing resource on anything on earth that is
Wikipedia. For the extremely technically inept, click on the blue words and they'll take you on a wonderful magical journey to a new place on the internet... its free, you don't have to pay for a ticket.
We decided to go to the Night Market in the evening - when we got there, we realised this was just a market set up for tourists and only had a few stalls (it had only recently been set up and is supposedly the first of its kind it Cambodia). I think we thought it would be more like the markets in Thailand!
On the final day of our 3 day pass, we went further to see Banteay Srey, a temple where the carvings have not been so damaged by time. It was also a lot smaller than the other temples. Although it was good to see the carvings in a less damaged state, the best thing
Stone Statues
Aristi's attempts to escape me by blending into the surrounding are foiled again... was the journey (an hour or so long) where we passed a lot of villages on the way and where children waved at us as we went by.
On the way back from Banteay Srey, we stopped at a Landmine Museum, set up by a former Khmer Rouge soldier - he wanted to make amends for putting these landmines down. Apparently he has removed around 2 hundred thousand landmines from the country, using the most basic of tools and at great danger to himself, but there are a lot more to go. He does not get funding from the government as the rural areas are not deemed “most important” or a “high priority” by the government.
He and his wife have also fostered quite a few children who have suffered at the hands of landmines - quite a few of them were at the museum and happy to chat to us. It was quite depressing hearing that there are still a few million landmines in rural areas - this man really is dedicated to removing the landmines and has won great respect amongst his fellow countrymen, despite his past role as a Khmer Rouge soldier.
Both James
Another world
Sometimes the temples here, experienced alone at the end of the day or early morning, can almost feel like they are drawing you back to the age the came from... and I have been surprised by Cambodia. Siem Reap is lucky to have the Angkor ruins so nearby - it has allowed Cambodia to transform itself from a 3rd world country full of landmines (the legacy of Pol Pot) to a global tourist destination. That said, to what extent this wealth spreads outside of the tourist areas - who knows.
It was good to see the ruins but it might have been better if one was allowed 3 day passes that did not have to be taken consecutively. And due to the time constraints, we hired a tuk-tuk driver which meant that we probably didn't get such a feel for the local customs and lifestyles. I also felt more like a tourist than I have done since we set out and it really does feel like one is at a beach resort (albeit minus the beach) when sitting in Pub Street.
We will be taking a bus to Phnom Penh tomorrow - total journey should be around 5 hours. We have heard that the road is good, nothing like the one from Poypet so it should be ok! Phnom Penh should give us a better view of the
Strangely placed statues
As the day wore on, Aristi's attempts to blend into the surroundings became more and more desperate... real Cambodia.
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