Cambodia 柬埔寨 (21-25 Nov 2002)

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Apsaras are the celestial dancers that can be seen everywhere in the ruins of Siem Reap.

This one is still well preserved in Ta Prohm. This is probably an original, given the minimal restoration work done on the site. I can't imagine they restored only one Apsara instead of clearing more of the temple. There seems damage or unfinished work on top of the head.

One of the books I read had a short account of a Chinese emissary's visit to Angkor, where he described the men and women, including the King and his Queens, were bare-chested. So are the Apsara statues we saw.

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Room after room after more rooms in the temple ground of Preah Khan.

At the far end is an altar with a stone column symbolizing the penis of Shiva, our guide told us.

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This old woman is maintaining an old statue for worship and offerings and accept money from worshippers. There are lots of old men and women making a living this way.

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After visiting the temples, we went to the Great Lake which is about 30-min drive from Siem Reap.

We rented a boat in a small town where 700 families living in bamboo houses or on boats. Many houses has TV & CB radio antennas. Few houses has motorbike parking in front. Once in a while a water pump between houses.

It seem the town is still expanding and edging toward the water. (See building material in top picture.) We saw pig pen on boat, church on boat, food vendors on boats (middle picture).

There are also few floating tourist traps (shops) selling drinks, T-shirts, etc... completed with pelicans and certain fishing eagles.

Our guide said pelicans are now rare, but was very common in the old days. I saw pelicans crafted on the relieves in temple walls depicting daily life of people then.

The 90-min boat ride cost US$40 for the charter.

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Duing the lake tour we saw many kids playing naked in the water. This one especially enjoys being photographed.

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At the edge of the town on the Great Lake.