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My early morning surprise
This is the little guy that took up residence in my shoe overnight. Funny things can happen when you leave your shoes outside the door overnight. As is the custom, I left my shoes outside the front door of my guesthouse last night. When I slipped my foot in to them this morning I noticed that my left foot seemed a bit cramped. When I went to dump it out, out popped a frog. I’m not sure what kind of omen that was but I think it was a sign for rain, but more on that later. My driver and I headed out at 9:00 AM to pick up where I left off yesterday. Our first stop was Preah Khan, a twelfth century temple. To get there you have to cross a bridge with statues of men pulling a large serpent like creature that runs the length of the bridge. The main gate was incredible, with large sculptures and moss covered doorways. This was the first temple I have seen that shows remnants of how the jungle had overtaken everything. I can’t imagine the effort it took to release it from the grips of the giant strangler figs and ficus trees. Inside the temple was a large bell like structure and plenty of temple
Terrace of the Elephants
Another shot of the terrace on my way to the next temple. dogs to keep them safe on the outside. From Preah Khan we ventured on to Neak Pean. This large area used to hold a pool with a small temple rising up in the middle. The stairs of the temple are guarded by a naga, or sacred snake with many heads. They actually looked more like seal heads but who am I to judge? The pool has since drained but I am told that it does refill from time to time. The whole area was fairly small and it didn’t take me very long to cover it. My next stop was another small temple called Ta Sam. The main feature of this temple is the rear gate which is completely shrouded by a giant ficcus tree that drapes around the doorway. My next stop was also my last stop thanks to a little monsoon rain action. I was halfway up the steps of the Eastern Mebon temple when the dark clouds brought massive wind followed by massive rains. I ran for cover inside a very small temple building to wait out the storm while my tuk-tuk driver sought refuge at one of the small roadside eateries (small tables under thatched roofs
Preah Khan Bridge
On the bridge leading to the temple where you can eat and get hounded to buy everything from postcards to t-shirts). While I was waiting for the storms end a young Cambodian girl of about 10 years old made her way into my refuge. She didn’t speak any English and from what I could tell, could barely speak any language but what a cutie. We had a lengthy conversation of mostly hand signals. She drew pictures and numbers in my journal and generally kept me entertained while I waited for the rains to end. Finally the rain gave way to sprinkles and my little friend dragged me off to a small temple building where a small old man sat ready to sell me small brass elephants and Hindu gods. I passed on the statues and set about to grab some photos while the weather was settled. My friend shadowed me around the temple, not trying to sell me anything but just being a kid playing in the puddles. The rain started to pick up again (thank goodness for rain gear) and I wandered back across the road to the eating shacks to find my driver. The rains came harder and my stomach was empty so I suffered
through the barrage of “Mr., you buy postcards from me, $1.00. Where you from? United States? Washington D.C. is the capitol. You buy my postcards now?” The words “no thank you” seem to come from my mouth automatically now. After lunch I decided that the rains weren’t going to end so I called it a day and headed back to the guesthouse. I’ll be picking things up tomorrow where I left off. That’s the beauty of having so much time here is that I don’t have to rush through any of the temples. They are all too incredible to have to rush through them in poor weather. I have now had my dinner and I will try and load some pictures to go with this blog. Another end to another great day.
Cheers
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non-member comment
Hmmm
It might not be the cows you're eating if you are seeing cattle roaming around??? The important thing is, are you seeing cats and dogs and lots of them!