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Banteay Srey
This is one bad looking elephant Today was a phenomenal day of sites and experiences. I met my driver around 8:00 and we headed off to our targeted location. Our first stop was Banteay Srey. It is one of the smallest temples I have visited but the carvings were amazing, even more so considering the age of them. It was more crowded than I had anticipated given its remote location but the road to this temple is fairly good so most of the tour buses hauling around the Japanese tourists had no problem making the journey. The temple itself is, as I said, small but it is quite picturesque with the main temple buildings located in the center and a small moat surrounding the outer walls. As has been my pattern, I started exploring from the outside and then worked my way in. So many of the tourists just go for the big attraction of the main temple and miss all of the beautiful vistas of the outer temple grounds. I always make it a point to see the entire site for fear of missing some hidden treasure off the more beaten path. Some of my most rewarding images have been in small areas where almost no
Banteay Srey
Bas relief carvings one goes to. The other great thing about this is that I have these areas almost exclusively to myself. The majority of the bas relief carvings are on and around the main temple tower. I could see why this place draws as many people as it does. The intricacy of the carvings was amazing. I don’t know if my images will relay just how detailed they were. The other amazing thing is that the stones in this temple seemed to be from a different source than most of the other temples. There were shades of pink and yellow that I had not seen anywhere else. Once I had soaked in all this place had to offer it was time to move on to Kbal Spean, also known as the river of 1000 lingas. The road to this location, and I use the word road kindly, was a long dusty wash-boarded stretch that tested the skills of my driver and the durability of my kidneys. It was bounce, bounce, shake for the better part of half an hour. Once thee I began the long kike up the mountain to the river and carvings. The pathway to the site was through heavy
Banteay Srey
Bas relief carvings jungle canopy and over and around giant boulders. The path though was well marked and thee were even a few stairs along the way to help navigate the larger boulders. All I can say is that the jungles of Cambodia are quite steamy as was evident from my completely sweat-soaked clothes. The trail is on 1.5 km to the top but it took me about half an hour to navigate. One thing is evident to me, I have got to start running again when I get home. I reached the carvings and was blown away at how something carved in stone hundreds of years ago could have lasted so long without eroding away. The carvings were not as plentiful as I thought but still well worth the trip. The river/stream wound its way through the jungle and over huge boulders and then culminated in a small waterfall at the end. The hike back down was oh so much better than the way up, thank God for gravity. When I got back to the parking area it was around 1:30 and time for lunch. I parked myself at one of the roadside vendors and had a healthy serving of beef and
Banteay Srey
Bas relief carvings pineapple with rice and a nice cold drink. As I sat and ate I had a great conversation with the girl that worked there. She is studying English and was eager to practice on me. The conversation turned to sandals and she wanted me to write the word down for her in her study book so she could remember it. I also gave her another name for them, flip-flops, which she thought was extremely funny. I wrote that one down for her too and explained that the name comes from the sound the sandals make when walking. After filling up and cooling off it was time to jar the spine once more and head back. It was just as fun the second time around. Our third stop for the day was at Banteay Samre. It is a beautiful little temple at the eastern edge of what is called the East Baray. The Baray was a huge rectangular reservoir that ran east/west and once serviced all of the water needs of the ancient Khmers. It has since dried up and is mostly used for rice cultivation. The temple was very beautiful and would have been even better if the afternoon rains
Banteay Srey
Bas relief carvings hadn’t come. I spent awhile in a doorway with three young Brits who had just come in to town yesterday. We talked about the temples and I offered suggestions on what they should see, to include Pub Street. They were very excited about that. The rain stopped and we parted company and I went back about my exploration of the temple. We left there with the intention of heading back to the guesthouse but as we were driving along, the sun came cout and I redirected my driver to Angkor Wat. I actually had some good light and didn’t want to let the moment pass me by. He dropped me of at the main gate and I literally ran to the spot that I knew I wanted to be in. Afternoon sun was a rare commodity these past few days and with more storm clouds approaching from the west, I knew it wouldn’t last long. I got to my spot of choice, the lake reflection in front of the temple, and quickly made some camera adjustments to grab the shots I wanted. I got about 6 or 7 and then the light was gone, hidden by the impending storm clouds.
Banteay Srey
Bas relief carvings But I was happy and tired and covered in road dust and so I called it a day. Tomorrow is my last chance to explore so I plan on hitting some of the smaller sites that I passed by earlier in the week and maybe back to Angkor Wat one more time. I can’t believe that the time has flown by so quickly. It has been such an amazing experience! It has been so amazing that I want to thank my beautiful wife Suzanne and our friend Margaret. They are two of the most adventurous spirits I have ever known, always ready to plunge in to a worldly adventure and they were my inspiration for taking this trip. Thank you both so much for giving me the inspiration to see and experience things beyond my own small world. You two are the BEST!!! Until next time, cheers and HAPPY 4th OF JULY!
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Rae
non-member comment
Wow
I always knew you took great pictures; but who knew you could write so well too! Now if you'd just eat weird stuff along the way (really weird, I'm talking icky) like Anthony Bourdain- you could get your own travel show on cable. I'd watch. XOR