I visited a traditional Khmer dance evening which was entertaining. As you could imagine it was geared for tourists (domestic as well as foreign) but was good nonetheless. The dancers tend to move very slowly and gracefully and are dressed up but have bare feet.
I enjoyed my food very much, even after I was waved to by the chickens foot in my curry. It looks so much like a hand and didn't have much meat on it so I left that bit behind.
Another tasty treat was barbecued stuffed frogs (left and top).
A group of land mine victims grew fed up of begging and started this band. They now play around the temples under the shade of the trees and have a CD.
Very peaceful getaway from the busy temples - West Mabon is an 8km x 0.8km man made lake constructed around the C10th and a good spot to enjoy the bbq fish and stuffed frog.
Begging in tourist areas is apparently more financially rewarding than working. These children were not begging but many do. Some have even been taught to get tourists to buy them condensed milk (several dollars a can) claiming they have a young sibling starving at home. This can then be sold for profit. Clever! It has to be appreciated though that many people are in extreme poverty. Even those in work get paid salaries of only a few dollars a month.
View of Angkor Wat Temple (built around C8th) from the air. I did not take this one as the helicopter ride was a little outside my budget!
South Gate to Bayon complex
Anyone for a jigsaw? This is an ongoing reconstruction being carried out by a French group of archaeologists. A daunting task.
The Bayon temple with many stone faced towers above the main structure. Intricate bas-reliefs are carved to depict many events including this - a battle scene
Ta Prohm temple which has been largely left unrestored due to the unique relationship it has with the trees that have enveloped it.
The size of these temples and trees are difficult to guage from photographs but they are very large.
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