Advertisement
Published: November 4th 2015
Edit Blog Post
Flight to Siem Reap was easy but a little late. Arrived at the Sofitel Angkor Wat in the dark so did not appreciate the beauty of the resort until morning. As soon as we finished our buffet dinner (everything you could want and artistically presented as well) we were entertained by Aspara dancers. Bed - early as always here in Asia.
{I am travelling in the bus right now headed to our ship and just before our rest stop we were in beautiful sunshine and right now it's pouring rain} the other amazing thing about this bus is that I can communicate this way while travelling through a country that has very little as you can see from the photos. They do love their beautiful things though - flowers, silks and women.
Up at 7 for breakfast and then the bus to Angkor. Worth the trip and travel hours to see this. Hard to describe as the sculptures and wall carvings are so intricate and in good shape after being reclaimed from the jungle. The best part of this temple was climbing down the ultra steep stairs from the third level. A slide would have worked better. The second
temple was the Bayon temple. Large Buddha faces - all slightly different. The sun was in a great spot to get some nice photos. {Right now scooters are all stopped and parked under any available overhang and all the vendors have the plastic hanging down for protection}. Dinner was at a Cambodian restaurant that had fish as their specialty and then we were dropped off at the night market. Walked around and came across an area that was like Granville Island on steroids. Decide to buy on the last day and just get the lay of the land. Mistake - couldn't find that area again. Took the tuk tuk back to the hotel and another early bed. Up at 6:30 for breakfast and then off to Ta Phomn - the temple where the roots of large trees are holding up parts of the temple ruins. Difficult to get photos without people in the way - apparently this is the place where Angelina shot Tomb Raiders so it seems everyone has to have their photo taken here. Have done a few sketches - just quick ones since there is no way I can capture the detailed carvings or profile shapes. Off
to the pink palace (nickname from the sandstone colour). Nice reflections off the moat - smaller temple but powerful images. Used the afternoon to go into town and this time we bargained. I bought those loose pants and when I tried them on back at the hotel and asked Ross his opinion he was tongue-tied - he couldn't even blurt out any words as his mind was racing to find something polite to say. His "You've been eating well here" was not the comment he should have come up with after so much thinking time. No one may ever see the pants on me. The top fared a bit better probably because it said XXXXL - keep in mind the Cambodians are very very tiny people. Dinner was at a place called the "Nest". Very nice spot except with our large group it was a set menu. I had an espresso martini and somehow with the language problem I ended up with a second martini - one of the things you put up with in another country. Off to a show called Phare done by young adults who are trained at a special school. Like a cirque du soleil done
on a tight budget but with just as much entertainment value. Fun. {oops now the sun is shining on my screen so that I can hardly see to type}.
This morning we went to an artisan shop and then another market - good bargaining this time - skirt rather than pants although that may not be the answer either. Rushed back to the hotel in time to get onto our bus and now we are on our way to the ship to go down the Mekong. My editor is asleep in the seat behind me so you get this the way it is.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.267s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 10; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0873s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Anne
non-member comment
Yeah
Keep on trying skirts & pants!! One of these days something perfect will turn up! :-) Soooo enjoy following your blog! A :-)