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Lying in a hammock under the cool of the trees on East side of Ankhor Wat, enjoying (vive Indochine) baguette & le vache qui ri picnic lunch, escaping the midday sun.
We were here for sunrise yesterday on our 5am start tuktuk tour. Quite a different feel now after cycling out from town (Siem Reap).
Crossing Thai-Cambodian border at Poipet was like stepping back in time to the pre-PolPot/Killing Fields days.
Men pushing huge wooden carts piled high w produce across the border and along roads was a dramatic contrast from modern Thailand. En route to Siem Reap, the driver pulled over at a street stall and bought a bag if crispy batter fried blackbirds (head, beak, feet & all!). Then an extended stop at resto so he and a woman could crunch their way through the lot!!!
Latifa warned me that food in Cambodia was terrible. I remained open minded but by day two I reverted to Chiangmai Thai resto and will return tonight! Cornelia braved a spider (just a garlicy leg, the body proved a little too much for her still!).
After visiting Ankhor Wat at sunrise and Bayon to find Grandma's photo spot we wandered around the Tomb Raider temple encroached by tree roots and then sat waiting by the lake for the heat to subside to climb up Banteray Mound to watch sunset.
This morning I continued my meditation practice doing standing qigong on our balcony. I opened my eyes once I lost concentration to find a deep pinky-red ball rising up right in front of me! Just perfect!
Cornelia and Sim have been in Cambodia for over a week now. Sim did a 2day trip east to visit Pavethet, the child she's been sponsoring for 3+ years through Action Aid. Rural life seemed hot and apart from taping sap from the Forrest to use for boat glue there wasn't much to village life except avoid the sun.
Tomorrow we head for the islands. A stop-over in Phnom Pen so I get a sense if the capital and then another bus to Sinhoukville. I want a week to relax before Bangkok and the ongoing nightmare of trying to get my visa for China, family visits and topping up on Thai friends, culture and food. I may not return for quite a few years, until I need to resign the lease on dad's house to enable the housekeeper and son to remain. I hope the house doesn't collapse on them!
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