Hard Work

Boo hoo we are seeing too many awesome things and we are worn out. I know. But that is kind of how we feel. Today we got up at 5:30 so we could tuktuk 90 minutes to Banta Srei, another awesome temple about 60km from Siam Reap. We got there almost first, which was kind of cool. The carvings there were older and also way better preserved than at Angkor Wat or Angkor Thom from yesterday.

Then we went to more temples... (this is for future Simon to remember more than it is supposed to be interesting for you)

East Mebon (elephant statues)
Pre-rup (tall one with the leaney towers)
Ta Som (the really long hallway where we thought we saw a missed Buddha but then it wasn't)
Neak Pean (the one with the water and the Naga wrapped all around it
And
Preah Khan (the one with blocks piled everywhere and with the new male organ statue and where we posed as sword people)

now we have seen all of the temples and we are ruin-templed out. We finished in the early afternoon and had a relaxing drive back to town. We had lunch: curry and stir-fry; two beers, Pepsi, coffee, mango smoothie. $7.50 and really yummy. Cambodia is awesome.

Of course, the downside of $2 curry and $6/hr massages is that the people are really poor. $150//month is a solid living here; teachers in public schools make $100-120 per month. The elections are basically rigged, the government is apparently corrupt but improving - the "elected" prime minister has been in power for 36 years and counting.

But after all they have been through as a unit, the people are amazing. We really like the Cambodian we have come across. Like everywhere else we have been and have coming up, we wish we could stay longer. But, tomorrow we fly to Laos for a quick stop. More temples, Lisa?