A photo op in front of this gorgeous tree at Ta Prohm Temple. We were lucky to get this; I forgot to charge the camera the night before, but guess what- the battery lasted all day, even though it flashed red warning each time I snapped a photo!
Hello Everybody,
Ahh, Cambodia, It is a pleasure. We first took a small plane from Bangkok, which used propellers as engines. It was a very low flight of about 25 thousand feet and we could see a lot of the landscape between Bangkok and Cambodia. It was actually a very smooth flight! When we landed we were immediately met by our tuk tuk driver who took us to our hotel. It was a great trip looking at the landscape it was definetely much more rural than Bangkok. There were cow type animals grazing in the fields, kids on bikes too big for them sometimes with shoes sometimes without, dogs walking around. It was awesome. We decided to walk into town and look around and found out that everyone likes tourists! They constantly approach you and ask you to buy stuff (postcards, crap, books, etc.) At first we politely say no thanks, but they do not stop so we learned to just ignore. I forgot to tell you most of them are really cute kids. And they do not stop. The town was pretty cool, prices were my kid of prices. I think it was 50 cents for a beer. We ate some food and then took the tuk tuk to watch the sunset from on top of a hill like structure. It was great, except there was some american turist who would not stop talking about himself. We just tried to ignore and enjoy. Until later. Todd n Jes
Well, while I wait for a picture to load, here is a little bit more fun for you...
The fauna and flora is incredible here. I can't believe how similar the countryside seems to be, yet the palms everywhere and the rice patties (paddies?) are stunning to look at. There are cows grazing everywhere, wandering around, with a herder near by.... we saw a monkey on the roadside yesterday, just sitting and watching the road. I am struck by how many people are by the side of the road, waiting near their motorcylces and tuk-tuks, asking each person walking by if they need services. There are children and young women everywhere, trying to sell you the same five things over and over again.
As for Angkor Wat...what a treat! I can't believe how incredibly beautiful and intact these ancient buildings appear to be! And, I certainly was not dissapointed with the moat. I really wanted to see a crocodile swimming in one. There were farmers watering their cows in the water today, people wading, etc. The ruins are also incredible because you can get so close to the structures... there is very little that you can't touch or crawl on. Really, it is like the museum and you can touch these incredible reliefs! It is hard to even put into words what these temples are like...the ones that we visited today were very desolate and it was room after room into this crucible... and it was as if you could get lost at every turn. There were fallen rocks and looted Buddha sculptures everwhere...many of the statues had missing heads, which our impromptu tour guide told us was due to the Khymer Rouge decapitating the statues and selling the heads on teh black market. Then came the Vietamese who stole the Buddhas from the walls...
Speaking of fauna, one of the most impressive things here is the Ta Prohm Temple, which is the area where our second picture is taken. There are strangling fig trees that start as a tiny seed in the tops of the structures, and grown downward, with their roots intertwining with the bricks. The trees were amazing... they are so tall, the remind me of the sequoias in California, if only for their sheer height. Their trunks were very twisted and often took over to strangle something else....
I have to say, though, my favorite was in Japan. I will attach a picture later, but it has a cover up flush for flatulence, many bidet features to wash the hiney, and they are clean. The confusing part is that in the airport there were three models of toilets, and it literally was a crap shoot what you got! I did not care for the squat toliet, just because of the difficulty with the messy wetness on the floor.
Tonight we are headed to the floating market on the largest freshwater lake in SE Asia (name later). We are hoping to catch sunset and some food and perhaps some more great food.
Best to all of you..
The elusive sea urchin at low tide.
I think this is a sea cucumber... they are so crazy~! This is at low tide- they are everywhere!
Ok, a better shot of the sky at sunset...
Sunset at My Way Restaurant, on Haat Salad.... (yes, we really are that sunburnt~!)
My hand after the little moto wipeout...
