Blackouts and temple fatigue

Happy New Year everyone!
Its been a busy couple of days since I last blogged. At that time I was finding my feet on this new adventure that is South East Asia. But I'm running now! So far I've done the temples (well, some of them), eaten $1 noodles, watched the new years fireworks over the temples from my hotel balcony, experienced dodgy Cambodian power, been a tourist attraction myself and drunk a fair amount of the local beer.
First, the Angkor temples - Siem Reap's reason for being. I won't bore you with too many details but I've done what is called the small circuit around Angkor Wat and have been further afield to Banteay Srei and the like. Angkor Wat - the grandaddy of them all is quite something - from a distance it looks like a postcard. (Left: temple fatigue) Inside it is meticulously maintained and swarming with tourists - its everyone's (including my) first stop. But I discovered my own favourites. Bayon - the one with the faces - is nuts, not just for the carvings and the jumbles of stone that have not been restored but also for the human circus that surrounds it. And it wouldn't be a circus without elephants which plod dispiritedly around the outside. Ta Prom - the famous "Tomb Raider" temple (the touts sell bootlegged copies of the DVD as well as water and pineapple on a stick) has platforms in front of the best tree roots which are never free of snap happy visitors. It is also the most (for me) claustrophobic place, it felt a bit like Picnic at Hanging Rock, a person could disappear and never be found. Miranda? Mirandaaaaaaa! But my absolute favourite is Banteay Samre (at left), off the main circut and when I visited there was only a handful of tourists so it was peaceful and still. What really made it and the temples in general make sense was when I found the grand causeway with its lines of Nagas sweeping up to to temple. I can imagine the grand processions of people walking the same route as I am doing many centuries later (Sarah K correct me if I'm wrong!). It was a real "I get it" moment. My description may be brief but the slide night will be epic - I probably took 200 photos at the temples along not to mention the other 150 or so since I got here! But they're so photogenic!
Equally photogenic but in another league entirely is the Cambodian Cultural Village an over priced tourist trap on Airport Road that felt like an abandoned amusement park (image at left: your guess is as good and mine!). It is supposed to show Cambodia in minature with waxworks, model village and "cultural" performances as well as a restaurant and foot massage centre (!). I was the only western tourist there but there were plenty of package tourists from Asia whooping it up. As the only white skinned, blond haired person about some of the young guys decided they wanted my photo. More fool them - all they got was me with mad hair, sweat stains and my hand up to my face in a "no pictures, no comment" pose. I went there with low expectations and they were well met but sometimes you've got to try these things!
I've also experienced my first blackout. The power to the whole block went out early new years eve and didn't come back on until late the next day. I've learnt how not to deal with it (complain) and how to build a bridge and get over it. For godsakes woman, you're in a country where most of the population don't have running water, let alone electricity, so just go with the flow - mainly of sweat. (left: blackout supplies provided by the hotel)
I've been trying the local food. I've found a good place around the corner where I can get a stir fry and rice for $2. The local green of choice, morning glory tastes like a cross between spinach, mustard cress and cinnamon - quite interesting. My drinking hole of choice is a hotel down the way where I can sit on a day bed type arrangement and drink the local brew with an industrial fan blowing welcome cool air in my general direction. A couple of beers costs anything from $2-4 depending on whether its happy hour or not. (left: fried fish with ginger, soy beans and morning glory)
I'm loving my time in Siem Reap. Its such a diverse interesting place. I'll be moving on in a couple of days. Tomorrow's challenge? Buying a bus ticket.
Until next time...