"Take her to Cambodia, buy her a lobster dinner, spend more than a dollar"

Help please? What Wat is this? I've forgotten!

Well, it was "The Bard" recently, so why not "Men in Black" this time?
Our visit to Cambodia was for a much more mundane reason, our visas were due for renewal.

The plan was simple, fly to Phenom Penh, get visa, run up to Siem Reap and then fly back home....... But,"the best laid plans of mice and men"..... (Is that a bit more literary for you? Or is Burns as bad as Agent "J"?)

The flights went well, we had booked a nice hotel in a convenient place but then, I got sick, Joan got sick and the Embassy refused our visa! Our fault; we had papers missing and the one thing you don't do is go without the right papers.
So, what with the Thai Queen's Birthday holiday, there was nothing else to do but go off to visit Siem Reap and see the Angkour Wat!

 This post is mainly a photo album of our visit, don't feel you've got to keep your eyes open, I wont be able to see you snoozing through the holiday slides!
Our taxi took us for a whistle stop tour of Phenom Penh, but I've already forgotten the name of this Wat (Buddhist Temple), the steps are grueling in the heat but an interesting community exists in and around the Wat, consisting of everyone from the devout monks to the beggars sitting around the site hoping for

anyone wanting to get merit to spare a dollar. The Cambodians only use their own currency to give change of less than 1 US dollar and even then sometimes give you a hand-full of toffees instead!
These birds are for sale to be released as an offering, I suspect they are well fed and return quite quickly to be recycled!
I will tell the rest of the tale in Caption form!

The scent of burning incense is everywhere

This little chap was very interested in the caged birds!

A constant supply of burning prayers

This battle scene is amazing in detail and beauty

This was the street where our Hotel was: "The Frangipani Fine Arts Hotel"

The litter is out of hand throughout the City

Unsurprisingly there are any similarities to Thailand.

Classic ornamentation of Wats

The Mekong River joins the Rivers Bassac and Tonle Sap at Phomn Penh

Smarter areas co exist with the less salubrious 

Fabulous Bronze statues along the River Side area 

Both the Traditional and modern water craft ply their trade along here

"The Titanic" Restaurant has a good reputation so we tried the Water Buffalo steaks

These Elephants were a bit of fun!

It took these boats heading up stream a lot longer to pass than those heading towards the ocean!

These Lotus flowers are ubiquitous

You can sail up to Siem Reap in about the same time as you can drive,
 but Trip Advisor isn't too enthusiastic about it!

A Cambodian Tuk-Tuk is a trailer, towed behind. Space for at least 4; but there
again there again there are few hills in the City!

Roof top restaurant overlooking the Rivers

If you're going to make a door way, do it properly! 

Driving to Siem Reap, now. All the little holdings have a hay-stack for the cattle

Houses on 8 foot stilts is the norm. Brightly painted is more common than
the dark wood of the Thai "Lanna" houses.

Water courses are everywhere along the river banks and the road from
Phenom Penh to Siem Reap follows the river.

This scene could be anywhere in the rural world.

Verdant trees, grasses and jungle plants abound 

Police Head-Quarters, of course!

The clouds of the rainy season adds  drama to the sky 

Much more beef is raised here.

The aftermath of recent elections has been unrest about the disputed result,
these signs are everywhere from the campaign

Corner shop?

The road criss-crosses the Mekong

Our friendly Tuk -Tuk driver at Siem Reap and budding guitarist, he took us
 around the best bits.

Ankour Wat and environs

These temples have been Hindu, then Buddhist, then........you get the idea

A different kind of "Faceless One"

It is impossible to get a picture without the crowds. Ankour Wat is THE
destination in Cambodia.

The Indian Government has co- funded some restoration work

The tethered, hot-air balloon must give a fabulous view of the ruins, time
did not permit us to do more than stride quickly around the site.

In time the repairs will blend in with the ancient stone work

I love these details in the architecture, it's memorable and timeless.

In spite of the signs and barriers many people went inside the ruins!

These iconic domes feature in all the advertising for this world heritage site

It's like a messy version of Pisa!

Do you like Joan's hat? 15 mins. of negotiations in 3 languages and 4 different
 currencies, and she still came out of it the worse off!

The carving in this panel is still beautifully defined after many centuries

The face in the carving is even more enigmatic to me than
Mona Lisa!

We kept expecting King Louis to leap out of the
trees and start singing and dancing....

Love this carving, especially the little smiley
faces that look like the emoticons in text messages!

Fountains Abbey, Rivaux, Stone Henge, throughout time, the desire to
build temples has raised the skills of artisans to the highest levels; in
 my workshop at school I had the lines from William Blake's
 "auguries of innocence"posted on the walls: "Throughout all these human
lands, tools were made and born were hands........."

Not the same qualities of materials, design or execution but,
a peaceful oasis in the City!

The "Egg Station" could produce a perfect omelet to match any in Paris!
In fact the service was more attentive and friendly, too! The ex-French colonial
influence extended to making excellent french bread, a welcome change. 

This Tuk-Tuk driver was attached to our hotel, he was amazing and didn't
mind the torrential downpour he had to endure the day before, in our
abortive attempt to get our 90 day visas!