I will leave Siem Reap tonight for Phnom Penn and have a whole sweltering afternoon to kill, so thought it might be time to update this thing. Especially considering this hostel has free internet. They also fill up my water bottle for free too, bless them. I mean, I would be happy to pay, but if I can avoid buying another plastic bottle then I will. I did buy a 'life straw' before I came but it's proving to be quite awkward to drink through - I will persist when I get to a place I will stay in for a while, perhaps Ho Chi Minh....
Anyhoo, I spent two days exploring the temples of Angkor Wat, Stunning, mostly, although I have to say I found the main one the least impressive. Perhaps it was the sheer amount of people there, or something about the layout but it didn't do much for me. It did have some amazing reliefs etched into the ancient walls however - a depiction from the Ramayana and another relief depicts "The churning of the sea of milk", where gods and demons alike assist the serpent Vasuki to churn the sea as Vishnu sees fit. Quite impressive really. These temples were originally Hindu and it's interesting to note the number of old decapitated Hindu statues as the Buddhists allegedly lopped the heads off of rival gods.
Ta Promh temple was pretty striking however, with trees growing up amongst the concrete ruins. The scene of part of 'Tomb Raider' with Angelina J (which I've never seen by the way), it is pretty awesome and I could imagine guerrillas running from the enemy and protecting the temple jewels...
Even more impressive however is 'Bayon', a temple which features 200 odd faces carved into stone of Lokesvara (รก lord who looks down', basically a bodhisattvsa)'. I take so many photos and wander around in circles for quite a while, covering the same ground but never tiring of the scenery.
We go to a temple 'Banteay Srei' which is far-out in terms of impressiveness as well as distance if that makes sense... It is 30 kms out of town so we have to pay our tuk-tuk driver double due to the distance and the price of petrol. It is worth it however, as it is almost fairy-tale-esque with reddish pinkish stone and known for the detail in its carvings.
After two days of temple hunting I am pretty beat... our hostel has a POOL in it which is, quite frankly, totally awesome! And I have a space where I can do yoga on the third floor so I'm pretty content with m y current abode by all accounts.
Come evening time, and I visit the night market to haggle gently over scarves, sunglasses and dresses. I stop for a bout of reflexology when I'm tired (half an hour for 2USD and I didn't even have to bargain - that is the fixed price) and my masseuer is small but oh so strong. She (and her friends, who are hanging around watching films and shrieking their heads off when their male friends come to throw a fake lizard at them) laugh at me when I draw breath at the fierceness of her acupressure. Youch! But I tell myself it's all good, and by the time I leave I literally feel amaaazing... and walk on to get my first ever pedicure (also 2USD) and toe colour. It's so nice to feel pampered - I usually completely neglect my feet and as a result they're somewhat traveller skanky.. but not for long! Within half an hour I float back to my guesthouse with the intention of showing them off. Unfortunately the bar has been overtaken by much younger travellers than I (oh, I remember those days!) playing drinking games so I shy off to my dorm room and manage to get a fantastic and much needed early night.
I have a whole day to fill in Siem Reap before my midnight bus so I've been spending it walking the streets and enjoying a lovely salad lunch at the 'Peace cafe' which runs yoga classes although not on the days I've been here. I'm sitting chilling and reading a great Phnom Penn publication about art and the new Khmer generation of artists and bloggers etc, when all of a sudden I notice a sly monkey approaching my table. I mean, I'm much bigger than him but I haven't been too fond of monkeys since I got chased by one in India a few years back. I slowly slink away with the internal excuse that I need to pay my bill, but deep down I know I have let him win and vow not to be such a pussy in future.
Next stop is the blind massage clinic I think... and a $3 film about the Pol Pot regime which plays 3 or 4 times a day in the Night Market. Oh the possibilities. Right then, time to get off this machine and get back on out there... over and out xxxx
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