A Tuk Tuk Ride

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Geo: 12.25, 104.667

I woke up about 6am in our Phnom Penh hotel room, exhausted, staring at the roof. What I wouldnt do for an extra couple hours sleep. We had to bounce up, pack our things and head off early on our way to Khampong Chang about 3 hours away.
The journey would take another 3 hours, via public bus. Sleep on the bus was not an option, due to a bumpy ride and an excessively loud, brutal horn, which the driver hooted with great frequency.
At the half way point, we stopped for a break at a place called 'Spiderville' named so elloquently for the delicacy sold here: Deep fried Spiders... they looked even worse than you could imagine. I'll upload photos at the next oppertunity. They were crawling with flies, looked old, and were accompanied by deep fried cockroaches. Tasty..
From here, we headed on to our destination.
This town wasnt particularly impressive. A bit dirty, barron, not a tourist location, and more... fragrant than usual.
Our activity of the day was a Tuk Tuk drive. The first destination was Nokor Wat, a buddhist temple initially constructed in the 12th century. It has since been renovated and the interior was built in 1920. At times, the lack of reverence and respect shown by the locals at these places surprises me. Much of this was built some 900 years ago, and im not sure the ancestors of the locals would have appreciated people lying around, smoking and laughing as their cats ran accross old statues. Furthermore, old paintings, statues, are now coated in $$$ figures of donations. Culture smeared with the stench of currency seems to trivialise it all for me..?
From here, we went for a drive through farming fields, to see the lifestyle and activities of the local farmers. 80% of Cambodias population are farmers. We then ventured to the hillside to visit the 'man and woman'mountain temples, reflective of old mythology. We're now off to dinner! Tomorrow, the adventure to Siem Riap beckons. We will stay there for 3 nights, and have the oppertunity to see the renowned Ankor Wat.

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Photos

Cambodia Snapshot
More snapshots of the Cambodian Countryside as we travel by bus between cities

Local Delicacy..
Yes, they're tarantulas..
Black, clumped together, huge, old looking.. flies swarming about... tasty.

Fried Crickets
Just in case tarantulas didnt wet your appetite

Cambodian Shower
Electric and Tempremental

Local Hotel Resident
A large Praying Mantis

Tuk Tuk Ride
Steve, Harriet and Matt

Tuk Tuk
The Girls Carriage

Wat Nokor
Sun trying to break through the clouds.

Modern Interior
This temple was built in the 11th Century. An inner shell, a modern interior has been built in approx 1920. I found it sad that many of these temples have $$ signs all over their paintings. A testiment to donations...