View from the SAS lounge at Heathrow – 2 hours before my flight to Bangkok leaves22A – a great seat
Bangkok – Christmas 2013
Christmas Day in BangkokView from Lucy’s flat in Sukhumvit
Siem Reap
Feverish activity at Siem Reap’s pretty swish International Airport
All the taxis were old Toyota CamrysLucy checking on Trip Advisor for good local restaurants. On Sok San Road we went to Genevieve’s and Cambodian Traditional Chef a very nice little restaurant that also runs Cambodian cookery classesThe boxes with ribbons were part of the Christmas decorations & removed for New YearPub Street, Siem ReapThis fine beer is brewed by a Carlsberg associate company
Tonlé Sap:
On a canal leading to Tonlé Sap – the biggest lake in South East Asia – around 10,000 people live along the banks of the canal and shores of the lake on “floating” housesTonlé Sap – the biggest freshwater lake in South East Asia – threatened by a Lao dam project upstream on the MekongTonlé Sap – great lake – is fed by the Tonlé Sap & Mekong rivers – there used to be over 100 species of fish here but over-fishing has reduced that number – apparently the Tonlé Sap river reverses its flow during the rainy season causing flooding
Beng Mealea:
Built in the 12th century under Suryavarman II, Beng Mealea is enclosed by a massive moat measuring 1.2km by 900m.
There are an estimated 1.5 million land mines left in Cambodia & these can be found on the Lao & Thai bordersThe fascinating & slightly mysterious Beng Mealea temple – built before Angkor Watt but now in ruinsAmazing to see how the trees are just growing through the ruins of the temple – here seen from the remains of the east gateAbout 68km from Siem Reap this temple doesn’t attract the hordes of visitors that Angkor Watt doesWalkways have been erected to make exploring this site less perilous Wandering around the ruins & climbing over the debris, through doorways and skirting around the trees you can lose yourself in the tranquility…Children playing amongst the ruinsEven amongst the ruins you can see remains of intricate carvings and fine architectureThe large wooden walkway to and around the centre was originally constructed for the filming of Jean-Jacques Annaud’s Two Brothers (2004),..The moat surrounding Boeng Mealae is over grownGuarding the south gate
Angkor Thom:
Angkor Thom was the last capital of the Khmer Empire
Angkor ThomFour headed Buddha guarding one of the gates to Angkor ThomGuide explaining something about Angkor Thom to LucyTa Promh complex as seen in Tomb Raider (apparently) is undergoing a 40-year restoration programme – it originally took 36 years to build itWhat is left of the buildings will collapse if they remove the trees but if they leave the trees in situ then….The gods are facing west and the demons are facing east…
Angkor Watt:
Our guide suggested starting at Angkor Watt rather than Angkor Thom as it would be quieter – fewer people…Angkor Watt: just Lucy, me and 8,500 other people…Temple urchin on the scrounge…Exploring temples is thirsty work…
Bangkok – New Year 2014
Back in Bangkok for New Year’s Day 2014The one on the left is as hot as hell – the one on the right, meanwhile – is hotter – much, much hotter than hell (see those little green devils?) – lovely farewell dinner with Lucy at T-Restaurant, Sukhumvit 31 – Lucy did not eat the chillies, needless to say…
