Click on images below to enlarge:
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| Near Angkor Wat
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| Our guide brought us to a monastery within the area delimited by Angkor
Wat's moat.
| A temple within the monastery.
| Some of the monastery buildings.
| Monks with a few of the tourists that wander this way.
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| Many of the residential buildings were raised and had thatched roofs.
| Green coconuts.
| Large jackfruit. I don't think I've ever seen a jackfruit tree before.
| One last glimpse at some of the monuments by the monastery. (Count the
towers -- there are a lot.)
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A flower.
If you can identify it, tell me.
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| More Angkor Wat
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| On the way out of Angkor Wat, we walked again across the bridge crossing
the moat.
| One last look at the entrance to the outer temple. Excellent.
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| Lunch at Neary Khmer Angkor Restaurant
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| Neary Khmer Angkor Restaurant, the stop across from Angkor Wat where we
had lunch. I kept this picture in spite of the bicycle-mounted sunglass
rack because I felt it exemplified the tourist business in the area.
| "Inside" the restaurant. (Inside put in quotes because there are
no doors.)
| Spring rolls. The bean sprouts in them were fresher, crisper, and
sweeter than those in China. Di Yin thought the dipping sauce was very
good and identified it as something Vietnamese influenced, based on
fish-sauce (nuoc mam) but containing less garlic than most Vietnamese
sauces.
| The menu entry for the spring rolls (LF-5).
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| A common Cambodian dish: amok fish cooked with coconut milk and served in
a coconut. In addition to eating the fish, we managed to scrape some
flesh form the coconut with a spoon.
| Close-up.
| The menu description for the amok fish (MC-6). The dish is usually made
with catfish (or a similar fish).
| "Khmer prahuk ling." Pork with beans, tomatoes, squash, cucumber, and
green beans. The things that look like green peas are actually beans and
have a snap to them when bit. The squash (between the tomatoes and the
cucumbers) was dry and bready. The green beans were raw, but Di yin liked
their effect when eaten with the meat.
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| The menu description of our fried pork (MC-23).
| Pineapple, mango, watermelon, and banana. At the risk of offending Di
Yin, I have to say the mango was very good.
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Everything we ate was good; we chose well.
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| Roadside Shops
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| Covered roadside buildings as seen from our car.
| Some typical items for sale on the side of the road: paintings of Angkor
Wat, hats, drinks, camera batteries and film, etc.
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| South Gate of Angkor Thom
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| Approaching the south gate of Angkor Thom. The left side of the bridge
is said to have statues of gods; the right, demons.
| A close-up of the statues of gods on the bridge. You can tell which ones
have been restored.
| A picturesque scene along the moat that rings Angkor Thom.
Nominated for excellent.
| The south gate to Angkor and its giant Buddha faces.
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| A close-up of its faces. Excellent?
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