Angkor Wat

A quick catch-up from last week-end.....

Gaynor and I did make it to Angkor Wat and the temples. I've been to Siem Reap six times now and have never seen them. Mainly cos I'm not a great one for rocks. And stuff that's really old. My brother was always the fossil enthusiast of the family. My memory of a childhood trip to the British Museum was not wow-ing over the Elgin Marbles but sliding sock-footed on the huge polished floors and getting told off by the staff.

So crumbling temples and lots of them, to me, are quite a challenge.

When it came to it, Gaynor's enthusiasm helped spark an interest but it kept petering out. And in the end I was more fascinated by the packs of Japanese tourists, all wearing similar hats, tops, trousers, bought from the local markets. Like festival-goers who'll never wear them again. Tokoyo bank managers gleefully freed from the suited bootedness of work, giggling in stripey pantaloons and neon pink "I love Cambodia" T-shirts. Taking photos of their wives and kids making bunny signs beside the four faces of Bayon.

I think if I hadn't had such a good time at the puppet parade the night before I might have been more enamoured. But after the full-of-life-ness of that, it just felt quite empty, wandering around mauseleums and shrines dedicated to the dead.

But that's just my take. As feats of architectural "Magnifique!"ness (to quote a wow-ed French tourist), they're pretty good. So here's some photos and a few unbiased views.....