Temples (there are a few around here)

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Manil was due to collect us from the hotel at 0700 (we'd run into him at the Night Markets the previous evening) so we had to set the alarm for an 0600 start. Breakfast was bacon omelette and breads, as was now the norm.

Manil was a little late getting to the hotel and begged forgiveness - we were fine - there was no rush to do anything, we had plenty of time. We got on board the tuk tuk and bounced around through the roads of Siem Reap on the way to Ta Phrom, a trip that lasted around 40 minutes.

Ta Phrom is probably best known for it's role in Lara Croft - Tomb Raider and is most distinguishable from it's neighbours by the trees that have grown themselves in and around the ruins. As one of the least restored temples on the route, it has been left somewhat in the way in which it was found. The smaller shrubs and grass has been removed but it was a display of the powers of nature to see the roots of trees cutting through the stonework. Manil had suggested we spent 30 or 40 minutes wandering around but we were there for at least an hour with every new area offering a lifetime of Kodak moments. The gathered Chinese tour groups consisting of 30 or so tourists stopped at each one, ensuring everyone had a photo of everyone doing the peace sign at every spot so our progress was somewhat slowed.

Banteay Srei was our next proper stop but on the way we passed by Pre Rup. Manil suggested that it was a pretty good spot to watch the sunset so we only stopped for a few photographs. It was a much smaller temple that lacked the majesty of some of the ones we'd seen previously. In any other country Pre Rup alone would be a national treasure - in this part of Cambodia, it was just another temple.

On the way to the next temple, Banteay Sre, we asked Manil to pull over at the Cambodian Land Mine Museum (admission US$3 each). It is the pet project of Aki Ra, a former Khmer Rouge member turned fighter for the Vietnamese liberators. The accessible area of the museum was only small but it was full of stories from the founder and other Cambodians, telling of the effect of not just the initial fighting in the 1970s but the issues that landmines are still causing in Cambodia today. In the centre of the museum, a collection of hundreds, if not thousands, of land mines of all varieties.

We pulled in amongst the tour busses at Banteay Sre and realised we were, once again, in for something special. The surrounding tourist trinket stalls and the full carpark also suggested we were not the first people to visit for the day. Banteay Sre's claim to fame is that many of the intricate carvings in the stone have been either well restored or well preserved (I suspect the former). It was not one of the larger temples by any stretch of the imagination but it was well worth the 30 kilometre tuk tuk trip to get there.

Lunch was at a place of Manil's choosing and although the prices were a little inflated for tourists (Manil got a "free" lunch I think) my meal of rice with eggplant and minced pork was a reasonable size and quite lovely. Jo had spicy chicken that wasn't too bad either. As the beer was a rather expensive US$3 I decided on just an iced tea - It's not going to be easy adjusting to NZ$8 pint on our return. The bill came to US$12.

Banteay Samre was our final stop on the temple tour. Jo was suffering from a sore throat and exhaustion similar to my bout a few days before so we'd decided to head back to the hotel. Banteay Samre was almost like a little Angkor Wat. Although less impressive on the outside, the interior had a similar layout that was much easier to negotiate with only a dozen or so tourists in the complex when we were there.

We arrived back at The Moon Boutique Hotel at 1330 and, having made the mistake of not cooling down before sleeping, I suggested Jo have a quick dip in the pool before her sleep. We fired up the aircon in the room and she managed to get an hours kip before Manil showed up at 1530 to take us back to Pre Rup to catch the sunset.

The ride took around around 45 minutes and, with the sun due to set around 1720, we made it there in plenty of time to climb to the top of the tallest tower and wait. There was only one other couple up there when we arrived but slowly people climbed the steep, ladder like steps to the viewing point. Around fifty or so had joined us by 1630. Unfortunately the weather didn't play ball. As the sun dropped away under what would have been the horizon, a low cloud made its way in from stage left. Aside from a few moments when it found small cracks in the blanket of cloud it became pretty clear we weren't going to see much. We gave up around 1700 and I asked Manil if we could stop for a very specific type of snack on the way home.

We pulled up at a makeshift roadside food stall around half an hour later and I really had no idea what I was looking at.

Manil pointed to a bowl of black muck.

"Crickets"

He took one of the little critters and scoffed it down. I did likewise. It was a surprisingly nice taste - like a wafer thin nut with legs, very similar to the silkworm we'd tried in Dalat only with more crunch, more legs and a little less substance. A tuk tuk of Japanese travellers pulled up beside us so I posed with cricket on tongue for Jo and the visibly shaken Japanese to take photos.

I'm still not sure exactly what the next dish was but they very closely resembled cockroaches. Manil said they lived in the water but had no English translation for the name. These were a little trickier to eat as the shell like substance on the bugs back needed to be removed before eating. I took to it like a pro and chomped away.

"This one nicer", Manil said "Much more taste"

It certainly had more taste, the inside was a little gooey and it was also of a nutty flavour, only more pungent. I liked it at first but after a few more bites the strength of taste came through and it was a little too much. The best description that I could come up with is that it tasted like a strong blue vein cheese, wrapped in peanut butter, left in the sun for a week to rot. It didn't seem to bother Manil who grabbed another one when the stall owner wasn't looking.

I was already aware of what the third and final taster was. Small snakes, no longer than 25 centimetres rolled up like boerwors. They had been dried and barbequed so the texture was similar to beef jerky and, whilst very different to our lovely snake lunch the previous day, it was pretty damn nice. I bought half a cup of crickets and a snake for US$2.

Back at the hotel we tipped Manil and he suggested I take it easy on the crickets - if you're not used to them they could do funny things with peoples stomachs. No more than five he suggested - I'd scoffed at lest three times that on the tuk tuk ride home.

Dinner proper was a few burgers from the hotel and we were in bed at the leisurely hour of 1930. We were both suffering from sinus infections but had been on antibiotics for a few days so the worst seemed to have been kept at bay. We both woke a few times during the night and I alternated between the nice humid but hot ambient air and the very dry but cold air conditioning.

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