Some Leftover Vacation Pics

Just sorting through the last of my vacation pics. Mostly stuff from my second day of site seeing in Siem Reap. Out of all the photos I took, there sure was a lot that ended up in the garbage bin.

Banteay Srei. This complex is a little farther away from the other main complexes at Angkor, about a 30-40 minute drive from Siem Reap. Made of pink sandstone, this temple has a very distinct look with very intricate Khmer Art carvings.

"Reclamation". Witness Nature's eventual reclamation of all things built by man. Seedlings sprout amongst the stone ruins at Banteay Srei.

A closer look at some of the detailed sandstone carvings at Banteay Srei.

Another closeup of some carvings. Banteay Srei was a Hindu temple. Historically, Cambodian kings were either Hindu or Buddhist, with regimes switching back and forth over the centuries. Many temple carvings were desecrated by successive kings, often carving their religious symbols over top existing ones, in temples built by previous kings of the opposite religion. Buddha sitting with crossed legs vs. Hindu god sitting in Lotus position.

This is Pre Rup. Late 10th century temple. I passed it on the road travelling up to Banteay Srei and thought it looked interesting, so I asked the driver to stop on the way back. Besides myself, there were about 3 other people touring this site in the late morning, and about 10-15 workers doing groundskeeping. It's got a view just above the treetops, and is a recommended spot on some websites for watching the sunset. It's not exactly close to the city so I wasn't interested in coming back for sunset.

Doorway at Pre Rup.

Steep steps at Pre Rup. Many of the temples at Angkor feature rather steep stone steps. This guy was from Australia. He's in another picture somewhere. Sometimes pictures are boring with nobody in them, so you gotta make the most out of strangers you meet...

Groundskeepers keeping Pre Rup looking tidy. How would you like to cut your lawn and do all the weeding with only a machete?

Yup, here he is again. Some of the ground level ruins at Pre Rup.

I passed this while making my way out of Pre Rup and thought it would make an interesting picture. What is it? ...just the ground near the bottom of the temple wall.

A view of Pre Rup from the inside courtyard, first level.

Art Lounge back at Hotel De La Paix in the late morning. Chess is a large part of Cambodian heritage. No intricately carved wooden pieces? No problem, they'll even use bottle caps for pieces. There was a pretty nice photo exhibit called "Chess" showing in the lounge, taken by an emerging Kmher photographer.

Mmmmm...breakfast....or at least part of it. Hotel De La Paix has a pretty nice selection of fresh fruits, fresh juice, cereals and breads...in addition to their menu...

...and this was my choice on the menu...waffles with carmelized apples and cream...and no, I didn't eat all that cream.