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Cambodia Pictures - Page 5
By Mikey
Monday, 4th October 2004 06:40

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Just over the road from Banteay Kdei, some children were trying to sell us some bracelets. One small lad was trying very hard. He offered us first ten, then twenty, then thirty and finally forty bracelets for $1. It started out as "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. One dollar." When we declined (we already had ten from another temple) it became "Ten and ten. One dollar." He then moved on to "Ten and ten and ten. One dollar." and reached his limit with "Ten and ten and ten and ten. One dollar." At that point Claire thwarted him by declining again and managing to get around his attempts to block her. Here he is looking back at the one that got away.

Young vendor

Along with Thommanom, Prasat Kravan was one of the smaller temples that we visited.

Prasat Kravan

What is significant about Prasat Kravan though is the fact that it is constructed with bricks. That's right, these bricks are nearly 1000 years old.

Prasat Kravan

Banteay Srei is some distance away from the majority of the temples but it is no less interesting. It has some of the best carvings.

Banteay Srei

Banteay Samre bears a resemblance to Angkor Wat although the outer walls are made from laterite and not stone and it's a lot, lot smaller.

Banteay Samre

On our final day we went back to Bayon because we liked it a lot. Sneakily though we went back at about lunchtime when most of the tourists had gone on to other temples. This made it easier to take photos...

Bayon corridor

...like this one.

Bayon, Angkor Thom

We also went back to Angkor Wat and managed to get there before the afternoon rush (the light is better for photos in the afternoon). Through this gopura in the outer wall, you can see the central tower of Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat

Before the afternoon rush it's also possible to look along the inner causeway towards the central part of the temple without seeing another person... well, almost.

Angkor Wat

This is just a small part of one of the eight sections of wall in Angkor Wat that are covered with bas-reliefs. These reliefs tell stories in much the same way as the Bayeux tapestry does. This particular story we knew already from our visit to Wat Po in Thailand. Our guide there told us that "Bad man kidnap wife of King, King very sad. Super monkey army rescue wife of King, King very happy. King have cocktail party." It's all there if you look.

Bas-relief, Angkor Wat

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