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THONLE BATI ANGKORIAN TEMPLEThe thirteen days sejourn in Phnom Penh (PP) with cousin S and N and the adorable P the cat, included many shopping, shoe and dress making, spa treatments, a daytrip to Thonle Bati (Angokorian Temples), the riverside resort of Manguiere, and the last but not the least Preah Vihear...
Thonle Bati is about thirty five kilometers southe of PP. I rented a tuk tuk for half a day to take me to and fro the temple. The temple like all Angkorian temples is quite marvelous and like most of the temples has a group of childen at the front entry selling souvenirs during their break from school. The difference was the kids, all girls, were more intimate with the temple. I asked them to take me around and explain the history...All spoke relatively good English. They even took me to the Chinese Cemetery and Bhuddist monastery adjacent to the ruin. They categorized the different buildings in the monastery, humourously, as sleep, eat, read, pray. One was the dorms, one the dinning area, one the school, and the last one the temple with an Angkorian facade. They laughed at their own expression of the place. I gave them the camera and
asked them to have fun with it. So I have attached a few of their pictures.
The Khmer new year weekend (beginning April 16th) In the riverside resort of Manguiere ( I have to check the spelling) was relaxing and a great break from the hustle and bustle of PP. Did a lot of reading and Sudoku, and tried a couple of hours of kayaking along the (???) river. It was lovely, serene, and calm downstream and a hell of an excercise amidst the terrential rain going upstream...I was soaking wet and felt I had summitted Mount Everest!!! The resort is owned by a frenchman and his gracious Khmer wife. It is a family owned business and their chidlren were roaming about the grounds. It felt like home. We ended the trip driving thru the coastal towns of Cambodia and visiting the pepper plantations at Kempot.
The following weekend again cousins S, N, and self flew to Siem Reap and rented a 4X4 to drive us to Preah Vihear to visit the Angkor temples on the hill at the Thai Cambodian border. There are tensions between the two countries regarding the temples, so the military presence became more
evident as we approached the temples. We transferred into a larger military truck to go up a very steap path to the temples. the views are spectacular and the trip to the top is quite the adventure. We had lunch at some eatery at the bottom of the hill. With every bite I prayed for not getting sick. The temples, their location, and their views are quite spectacular...In a way it was a military weekend, we ended the trip the next day with a visit to the war and military museum in Siem Reap on the way to the airport. It was actually very interesting; an open museum with over grown vegetation that felt like a war zone. It touched on the topic of minefields and its many many innocent victims...
Toodles for now...
M
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