Diary entry: 13/04/10

At 5.15am we were picked up. We wanted to see the sun rise over the tops of Angkor Wat. Sadly so did hundreds of other people so it was a race to find the best spot. After snapping some picks of the front, famous scene, we ditched the crowd and went trapsing around inside where it was pitch black and had bats flying around. We emerged on the east side and after watching teh sun peak over the hills we set about getting arty shots where the sun made the rock look golden. It was bareable heat for around 1hr and then back to dripping with sweat again.


We headed far out, away from the usual tourist trail to the ruins of Banteay Srei and Kbal Spean, some 49km away.

Banteay Srei looked like a miniature village with doorways too small even for Lisa to pass through. It had fantastic carvings alojng the rooftops and because it was low, we could really study them. This was where we met a little girl who was selling wicker braclets (well, actually there are hundreds of girls selling these) however, this little girl was so sweet. Instead of begging for cash she just rambled on about her life. She told us about her ducks and the eggs they lay (not as tasty as chicken eggs). She showed us her watch and said her dad had let her borrow it for the day. She talked about her schooling and in fact she talked about everything. She even gave me a braclet for free. We were amused by her ramblings so in the end we bought another braclet. She seemed very happy with us!

Kbal Spean was 1.5km up the side of a rocky and steep mountain. It was a tough climb. At the top there were amazing carvings of Hindu Gods and crocodiles into rock on the river bed. Sadly in the dry season there isn't much water so it was all a bit dusty. It was here we met an Aussie woman in her 50s whose sons had all moved to London. One of them was getting married so she was on her way to London and thought she'd stop off and explore. Sher was lovely and made our climb back down much more interesting with a new friend.

In the evening we went to a bar which has live crocodiles in it. Weird!! Then, even weirder, we went to a restaurant with crocodile, snake and ostrich on the menu. Tim chose crocodile and even had to cook it himself. He says it tastes like a cross between chicken and fish!!