Temples of Angkor

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Angkor Wat at sunrise. It was just too awesome to really comprehend (or maybe it was too early!?) but by the time we reached Bayon and the terraces by it, we had begun to connect with the magical place that that we found ourselves in.

“You buy – one dollar” (“yooo baa-ii – wohn dahl-lor”) began at about 7am, with tiny business men and women – young children selling postcards and bracelets and flutes and scarves and books – persistently following us around the ancient site. “Te, aw kuhn” (“No, thank you”) we would say, and then they would say “I don’t understand this word ‘Te’” And then we would say “no” and they would ask why not – “Wa-aii noh?” – and we would say we don’t want it. And they would repeat “you buy – one dollar” and so it would go on. Gotta give them credit for their commitment to the sale.

Local kids without anything to sell would be friendly, and tell us some bits and pieces about the community and culture, and then ask us for money.

I bought some postcards from a little girl called Ren. She gave me a thankyou note with a picture of a flower drawn on it.

Banteay Srei (the “pink temple”) about 40km out of Siem Reap - about 2 hours on a tuk-tuk. Here we met a policeman who was studying history to be a tourguide. He gave us a tour for $2.50, then offered to sell us his badge – his police badge – as a souvenir..! And the drive was amazing

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