Nokor Phnom Hotel Siem Reap

... s official start to the boat races &#8211; both sides of the river were packed and the races involved over 30 boats &#8211; apparently the one taking place at the same time in Pnhom Penh involved over 200 &#8211; that must be quite a spectacle. <br><br><br>Memories of Siem Reap &#8211; pyjamas as going out gear, so many children, friendly people, travelling by tuk tuk, cheap food and drink, face masks ( because of air pollution rather than swine flu I think)&#8211; oh and temples!

... my leg. What I saw but may not show up in the photo&#8217;s are the deities carrying swords, devatas, and marine creatures. I did get a photo of Yama the god of the Underworld sitting at the top of this terrace who is considered the &#8220;leper king&#8221;. He is given this distinction, according to the guide, because of the corrosion of its surface by patches of lichen and because of an old folk legend that one of the Angkor kings was a leper.

... there <br>had been a chaotic succession of unstable political alliances with continuing civil war in the north). <br><br>The CCP - Cambodian People's Party - is led by the current PM, Hun Sen who as an ex- Khmer guerrilla, staged a bloody coup in 1997, overthrowing the First Prime Minister Prince Ranarariddh. An event such as this shows just how fragile things really are here, and how the bloody dictatorial past impacts on the present ...

... and little impact from the wind. Just as well as this is a crowded town, and once you venture outside the tourist centre you find homes are built of a very flimsy construction, made in the main of wood. Hopeless in typhoon category winds. <br><br>The school has been impacted by a foot of floodwater from the nearby stream which burst its banks. The boys who sleep downstairs were evacuated at three am, their dormitory will need substantial repairs ...

... of the creek - notice the angular cut-outs. That is from stones cut for the temples. The creek has now found that cut-out path and now runs through it.<br><br>Archaeologists estimate that over 500,000 people, and over 4000 elephants were used to build the temples here (including Angkor Wat), over a period of at least 30 years. Though this temple was built about 100 years before Angkor Wat. People back then volunteered ...

... br><br>Then we went about 14km to a temple called Banteay Srey which was carved purely by women. that was very pretty.<br><br>All in all, pretty templed out but had a great experience and have loved every second of Cambodia although Siem Reap is expensive but worth it!! <br><br>We decided not to do the balloon ride as it was expensive and only 15 mins - well save our money and do something really special.<br><br>Love lots<br><br>C++<br>

... of Milk, was almost completely covered over due to restoration work. Once again, thanks to the Khmer Rouge (is there anything these guys didn't **** up?) restoration on the archway above the terrace had to be stopped in the 70's and it remained uncovered, allowing water to seep in and damage the carvings, until a few years ago. The sign claimed it was "partially covered" but really, about 2/3's of it was unavailable for viewing.<br><br ...

... into restaurants as tourists pay for their meals and meg them to take their tuk-tuk home (we walked almost everywhere so we weren&#8217;t able to help them). The people that are unable to work because they are missing arms, legs, or their vision, beg for money or food. Mothers with sunken in cheeks carry children in their arms and plead for you to have mercy on them and spare some change. <br><br>Unfortunately, I can not do much to help these people. There are ...

... doing so. How could we go wrong in accommodation called the "No Problem Villa"...!<br><br>Travelling all day had left us very hungry, so we went to find nourishment. Street food in Thailand has been amazing, so street food we searched for. What did we get? The worst food EVER in the history of food, EVER! We couldn't take more than a few bites of the cold stodgey excuse for a meal, paid up and left, both feeling bad for ...

... I really liked the 3 sets of lions that guarded the towers. There are 3 sacred cows (nandi), not just one! <br><br>The last temple we visited was Lo Lei, it was also one of the smallest and least impressive. We snapped a couple of photos and left. <br><br>Overall the temples have been incredible and we have really enjoyed exploring them and learning about the history and religion of the Khmer people. We were glad that the sellers seem to have guidelines and ...