Temples and more temples

We were again met by our guide, named Ti, and taken to our accommodation. He has turned out to be a most solicitous guide who gave us very strict instructions on putting our passports in the safe, charging up our cameras and bringing our hats. We got used to it after a while but it was a bit like going on a school trip. "Have you been to the toilet yet?"


He suggested a tour of the town and environs the first night so after a swim and a wander ourselves (which included a fish foot massage - you put your feet in a large tank and they are gently nibbled by dozens of tiny fish) we met up and he took us by Tuk Tuk (small motor bike transport) to the outskirts of the town where many hundreds of people were having what he called a picnic - it was a collection of stalls where there were spit roasts, second hand clothes, a fun fair and lots of dancing later evidently. Where they all came from we're not sure as there were still thousands in the town attending to the tourists.


We started the next day with the tour of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. They are as magnificent as we expected though there was a bit of a surprise that they were clear of all vegetation. These sites have been used in a number of films, including famously Tomb Raider. We could just picture Angelina Jolie in action here. We had a break for lunch and a swim to cool down before starting the tour again. Now we moved on to the smaller, less famous temples and there was greater evidence of jungle growth on these. Some even had huge mature kapok trees growing right out of the walls - pictures will follow, we promise.


The plan had been to return to Angkor Thom for the sun set, but dark clouds loomed and it started to rain - most unseasonal we were told and no chance of seeing a sunset, so we diverted to the museum in Siem Reap, before meeting up with our friends from Vietnam at the Blue Pumpkin. Since Dennis, who had suggested we meet there had last been in Siem Reap ten years ago something like eight other restaurants called the Blue Pumpkin had opened, but luckily we all picked the same one, and Dennis was the only one who had trouble finding it. We had a great evening and all felt like real world travellers.