January 29 Angkor Wat

We visited a number of temples today but I only went inside one of them.  The first was so crowded with rude and completely inconsiderate people that I couldn't handle another one.  As it was I was about ready to give someone a shove or make a nasty comment.  The ruins are interesting enough and represent an incredible achievement for the tenth or eleventh century when they were constructed.  If we had been there at 5:30 when they opened and when the sun rose we might have got some good shots but we didn't arrive until after 9:00 and the light was bad along with the hordes.  The walking was very rough as we had to step over stones, negotiate dark tunnels and be on the look out for holes and steps.

At the remainder of the temples I stayed in the area where we were going to meet and took photos of people and kids and the exterior of the temples.  I enjoyed that much more than I would have trudging around inside. 

The kids are such fun.  After my telling them countless times that I didn't want to buy anything they turn it into a bit of a game if there aren't any other tourists around to plague.  One little guy asked me if I wanted to buy a dumb little bird for $1.00 and as he was walking away he turned to me and said, "Three for $2.00" and then laughed like crazy.  Part of the patter here was for them to ask where you were from and then tell you the capital of your country. They all new Ottawa and Canberra but some didn't know Washington and one who did thought it was Washington BC.

Another part if you say you don't want to buy whatever it is they are flogging is to ask you if you will buy it on the way back.  One guy from whom I didn't buy anything became very angry when I bought a book from someone else and claimed that I had promised to buy it from him.  He followed me around calling me a liar for some time.  I don't know where the kids get their products or how they can sell them for the prices they do.  One book I bought was clearly labeled by the publisher as being priced $21.99 US and I bought it for $5.00.  No, it was not a photocopy version as you see in some places.

While I sat at one restaurant I had a good long conversation with a couple from Melbourne who were cycling around and had just finished touring Laos.  They said that it was pretty hilly and hard work pedaling there.  Wish we were going to Laos as well.  Not sure why we're not.

Breakfast:  grilled tomatoes, fried rice, vegetable dish.

Lunch:  fish in cocoanut milk, chicken and cashews, red fish curry, French fries, fruit plate.

Dinner:  chicken noodle soup, fried "glass noodles" with chicken and Chinese mushrooms.

I asked the guide today when we were going to get  a chance to sample cat or dog or fried crickets or some of the other local delicacies.  His response was that they don't sell those things in restaurants and he didn't seem overly interested in suggesting where I might go to find them.  I asked if the little restaurants around the market would sell them and said not despite what I had read in the local guide book.

Tomorrow, our last day in Siem Reap, I think we are going to another temple and then perhaps to a place to see the way in which silk is produced from start (caterpillar) to finish.