melbourne identity

I'm having some trouble getting pictures to upload, and not wanting to delay this post any longer, I present to you the first half of my Melbourne adventure without photographic aide. As soon as I win this most recent battle with the wifi, I'll be editing this post to include the relevant pictures.

...and the photos are up!

It's been a busy few days here in Australia, and I'm only now, at 1:23 in the morning, getting the chance to write it all down. Starting from where I left off, I left the hostel to take a walk around in the cool spring air, and before long found myself strolling down the quite main street of St. Kilda. I stopped at Danny's Diner, by all accounts a local institution, to give their "best burgers in Melbourne" a try. The burger came with lettuce, tomato, Canadian bacon, egg, and some kind of secret sauce, and it was just the kind of reintroduction to Western food that I was looking for. Washing the Aussie burger down with a vanilla coke, I was soon back on the mean streets of St. Kilda, making my way toward the beach. The access road that led me to the coast brought me to a small pier, and walking out to the far end, I enjoyed the feeling of being a little bit cold for the first time in months. Sitting at the end of the pier, I realized that this was the farthest south I had ever been. A small scattering of beach goers populated the St. Kilda coast that Monday afternoon, and just like back home, with winter behind them the locals were a little overanxious to dawn the warm weather clothes despite the lingering chill in the air.

Flowering trees, sea-side roller coasters, and palm trees: welcome to Melbourne.

Another, longer pier attracted my attention, and walking down it I found that the end had become a sanctuary for Little Penguins, the smallest penguin species in the world. A few years back, some of these tiny penguins showed up on the pier, and the citizens of Melbourne have made a concerted effort to make them feel at home. Restricting access to much of the pier, visitors are still allowed along a short boardwalk that gives them some access to the friendlier penguins. I didn't see any that afternoon, twilight is the best time, and so I slowly made my way off the beach and back to the hostel. Taking a survey of the kitchen, I figured it would be worth while to do some grocery shopping, and so I made a late afternoon run through of one of the local chains. Peanut butter & jelly rounded out a pasta, salad, and ice cream-influenced shopping list, and I was back to the hostel in time to prepare a late dinner.

An unnerving discovery in the grocery store.

Eating in the kitchen, I chatted with some of my fellow hostel goers, running into a reasonable sampling of the world's population, most notably a guy named Adam from England, and a Canadian girl named Seka. After a short diversion involving the hostel's second showing of "Braveheart" in as many days, Seka offered to show me around St. Kilda, and the two of us walked along the boardwalk enruite to the penguins. Seka had been down to the pier the night before to see researchers catching and tagging the penguins, so she was able to warn me about the unearthly shrieks that can occasionally emanate from the rocks around the pier. Having only seen penguins at the aquarium, having the chance to see these little guys in the wild was really cool.

Seka and I walked through St. Kilda for a little while after leaving the pier, but things were pretty quite on the Monday night, so the two of us headed back to the hostel. We rejoined Adam, who, on my insistence, taught Seka and I how to play Wist. Wist is a card game, similar to yulker, that I was especially keen to learn because it was a favorite of Phileas Fogg, the circumnavigating protagonist of Jules Vern's Around the World in 80 Days. The game was fun, and not just because I staged a dramatic come-from-behind win.

The next morning, Seka and I headed into the city to take advantage of the free tourist bus. Following a circuit around the city, the tourist bus offers a basic introduction to Melbourne, and allows its passengers to disembark at any of the 18 stops it makes. We got off at the Victoria Market, a large outdoor venue which had pretty much everything Australian one could ever hope for: crocodile hats, boomerangs, diggery-doos, and the ever popular giant stuffed kangaroos with boxing gloves. The only purchases of the day were some blood oranges and a banana, the later of which went to my on-going effort to educate people about the proper way of eating a banana. Feel free to skip the next paragraph if you already know this...

Most people, myself included until recently, eat a banana by pulling back on the "tab" that connects the fruit to the bunch. This usually works, but often not without some struggle and squishing of the top. Monkeys, who I feel are reasonably experienced banana-eaters, approach the fruit from the other side. It turns out that if you simply pinch on the other side of a banana, the peel splits apart easily, allow pain-free access to the fruit. Give it a try.

After leaving the market, which closed rather early that day, we made our way to the Royal Botanical Gardens, which showed off the impressive array of strange and exotic flora that Australia can support. Stopping at a cafe at the entrance, I gave Melbourne's coffee a try (not bad, though Seka's milkshake was much more impressive) then plunged into the well-manicured jungle depths of the botanical garden.

It had been suggested to me to check out the Great Ocean Road while I was in Melbourne, and so when we returned to the hostel, I began a little last-minute researching. Starting off with a few flyers provided by the hostel, Seka and I headed off to the library to see what kind of arrangements we could me. The local library was a bit of a disappointment for anyone hoping to find books - apparently it didn't even have Catcher in the Rye - but its one redeeming value was that free internet. We managed to find a few sites, though the library closed before we could settle on anything. Returning to the hostel, we made some tentative plans to wake up early and check the prices at the nearby rental agencies, then got ready for a night out.

Seka, Adam, and I, dressed in our Tuesday best, headed out for Melbourne's Crown Casino, located down by the river. We arrived in style, and surveyed the grounds before ordering drinks. I was lucky enough to find a bartender who knew how to make a proper Rob Roy, making the extra effort to chill the martini glass, and rotate, rather than shake, the mixer so as not to chip the ice. It made the $15 cost easier to swallow. Having consumed our respective beverages, we hit the floor.

Possibly the best beverage of my trip.

Seka had already tried her hand at $1 worth of credit on the slot machines, which she promptly lost, so I volunteered to go next. My game of choice, as baccarat was electronic at this particular casino, was roulette. Purchasing $50 worth of chips, I split $20 on marks for the 2nd and 3rd thirds of the board. When the ball landed on #17, I won a payout of 3:1 on the 2nd third, and lost the 3rd, for a net gain of $10. Now holding $60 worth of chips, I retired to give Adam a chance to have a go at the slots.

I'm not a big fan of slot machines, as Calvin once remarked to Hobbes, there may not be a rule that requires the machines to pay out. They certainly didn't for Adam. After feeding $20 into the machine, Adam made 40 plays, winning perhaps 4 times. There weren't even any flashing lights or wild sirens. With no big wins, he soon went completely bust, making me feel very happy about my decision to skip the slots.

Responsible gambling advertisement or dire warning of the robotic apocalypse?

Seka admitted an interest in trying roulette, so we returned to the table where I had already won $10 and I coached her through the procedure. She won on the bet I made, and we both decided to give it one more go together. Riding the 2nd and 3rd third one last time, we won again, and effectively doubled our $20 investment to walk away from the table with $40. Seka and I each kept a $2.50 chip as a memento of the evening, and I walked away from the casino with more money than I had walked in with.

Seka and I, showing off our winnings.

We stopped on our way back, first to explore a castle-cum-art project, and then to find out way to the ANZAC Shrine. Finding the shrine was a bit trickier than we expected, as we expected to see it just over the rise across the road from the casino, but it wasn't there. Instead we found an open air amphitheater, and climbed up onto stage to appreciate the acoustics. From there we half wandered, half bushwhacked our way through the public gardens until we finally found the shine. Our goal, the eternal flame, was blazing in solitude at the far side of the shine, and the three of us spent a good while gazing into the dancing fire.

In the end, we gazed for a bit too long, as we missed the last metro back to the hostel. This wasn't all bad, as it gave me an opportunity to interact with the local wildlife that I might otherwise have missed. Recrossing the street, my casino companions spotted some critter scurrying away from us, and offered, in excited shouts, suggestions as to what it might be. My impulse was not so much to identify it as to catch it, and so I went running after what I soon ascertained to be a wallaby. Were I anywhere other than Australia, I would have felt sure that I was pursuing a demon squirrel, as everything about this furry monster suggested its relation to an R.O.U.S. (alla Princess Bride). I finally came face to face with my prey when it leaped into a tree and stared back at me with eyes full of terror. Adam joined in the chase but the demon squirrel managed to evade us, and having interfered enough in the fauna down under, the three of us continued on our way.

Instead of a 20 minute ride, we walked for just over an hour through the deserted city streets of Melbourne, stopping only briefly to examine the selection at a 7 Eleven. When we returned to the hostel, Seka and I were rather hungry, and we were both rather bumbed out to find that the kitchen was closed for cleaning. So instead, we hoofed it to a local gas station, where we shared an edible chicken sandwich.

That about wrapped up the evening, and Seka and I agreed to get up early enough the next day to do some car rental shopping, and with that we went to bed. I'm about ready for bed at the moment, so the next day's wild adventure, as well as the story of how I got to Sydney and everything I've done since getting here, will have to wait for tomorrow. I promise to have another post up by this time tomorrow, so you can look for it then. Until then, goodnight and good luck.

giving fall and winter a miss

For the first time in over three months, I'm back in an English-speaking country. While some might call that an over-generous description of the Australian use of the language, I'm still reveling in the temperate climate and easy-to-read signs. Yesterday, I wrapped up my last day in Bangkok with a trip to the Royal Museum of Thailand, which was a good way of closing the book on the country that had been hosting me for the better part of two weeks.

What a piece of junk.

Correcting an error that egregiously suggested Thailand covered an area of only 513,115.027 sq./km.

After leaving the museum, I returned to my hostel for the last time. Grabbing my luggage, I took an Australian family up on their generous offer to join them in their coach to the airport. After a quick ride out of town, we all arrived at the airport with more than enough time to check in and grab a quick snack. I killed some time chatting, and trying to get the airport wifi to work, but before long they were boarding our flight and it was time to leave Asia behind. The flight was the least remarkable of my journey thus far. With no in-flight entertainment to distract me, I spent the most of the 9 hours asleep.

Fish and flowers.

Arriving in Melbourne, I was a little worried about getting through Customs with some of the various organic souvenirs I've picked up along the way. Australia and New Zealand are famous for their strict Customs, island nations and all. They go so far as to have a COPS style television program that busts tourists trying to bring apples into the country. So I was very relived when I was waved through, and on to my airport shuttle. I could not be happier with the weather. The cool spring air was a welcome relief after months spent in the deserts and jungles of the world.

I've just checked into my hostel, and I'm anxious to explore, so that's going to have to be all for now. We'll see how it goes.

golden jubilee

Before I get inundate this post with pictures from Cambodia, I just wanted to explain the title. Somehow, despite my history with keeping blogs, and the distractions presented by the world, I've managed to publish 49 entries since I began planning this trip. Having come a long was from its "inauspicious beginnings", I present to you, with no further pomp or ado, this 50th entry...

If there was one word to sum up the landscape of Cambodia, it would be: "rice." But if there were two words, the second would be: "flat." Flat in a way to give Kansas a run for its money. This lends the country remarkably well to biking. And not on some fancy 10-speed, aluminum-framed bike with a cushioned seat and comfortably positioned handle bars (such Western decadences are shunned here). No, if you're going to rent a bike in Cambodia it will only fit the definition of "bicycle" in the academic sense: you cycle the peddles and the wheels turn (and through the entire ride, you never, never, fail to appreciate the continued operation of this dynamic, nor take for granted that the whole thing might not suddenly fall to pieces in a cartoon-style multi-staged disablement).

The sense of forbidding doom one gets while riding a bike in Cambodia is especially acute because, while the country is flat, the roads, through their potholes and bumps, offer near-Himalayan elevation. If anyone believes me to be making literal mountains out of figurative molehills, then that person has clearly never driven in Cambodia. The good news is that while I was there, road crews were maintaining the roads by busily shoveling bread loaf-sized rocks into the potholes, presumably in an effort to destroy the transmissions of any cars that manage to survive the un-maintained roads.

But I was not in Cambodia for its roads and bridges (note to readers: don't cross the bridges, at least not any of the ones built after the 16th century... reliability seems to have taken a nose dive in the last three centuries). I was there for its temples, and having paid the staggering $2/day rental cost of the bike, I made my way out of town and toward the grand-daddy of all temples: Angkor Wat. On my way, I stopped to purchase the necessity ingredients for a picnic lunch (bread, peanut butter, jelly, and Ritz Crackers with Cheeze, spelled with a "z" to keep it from being mistaken with "cheese") and cycled over to Angkor Wat. I had planned on saving this largest temple for last, and to this end I simply offered myself a glimpse of things to come as I sat in the courtyard of the temple, eating my lunch.

Looking out at Angkor Wat from the courtyard.

Having finished, I left Angkor Wat, and cycled on through the jungle, stopping wherever I found something interesting. Something that first-time visitors don't always appreciate about the Angkor Temples is how far apart they are from each other. A temple like Angkor Wat would have been surrounded by a large city, which would itself be surrounded by the still-existing moats. The cities vary in size, Angkor Wat is about 7 square kilometers, while Angkor Thorm is more than 20, and theres usually several kilometers separating each moated city. All this makes for rather long bike rides through the jungle.

A deserted temple I came across during my ride.

Biking down a paved road toward the sun.

Moss-covered ruins at Ta Prohm.

The jungle slowly consumes these temples.

Faces in the forest.

It was getting late when I decided to head back to Siem Reap, and the sky lost its light at an alarming rate as I peddled toward town. I made it back to my hostel safe, but exhausted, having gone 35 kilometers in just over an hour on bad (though mercifully flat) roads. I returned my bike, and scarfed down diner before watching a movie and falling into a deep and restful sleep.

I woke early the next morning, and after finishing breakfast with my roommates, I joined them on the "Rock n' Roll Tuk Tuk". The only one in town, his idea, his design, as stated time and again by our very enthusiastic driver, the Rock n' Roll Tuk Tuk was equipped with a rather impressive sound system, a mini DVD player and screen, a few decorative plants, and a myriad of brightly colored lights. Two microphones, one for the driver and one for the passengers, were hooked up to the loudspeakers, and it all made for a completely ridiculous, but highly entertaining ride through the jungles of Cambodia.

I was dropped off at Angkor Wat, where I spent the next three hours exploring the massive temple. The bas reliefs on the outer walls of Angkor Wat are some of the best preserved reliefs from this time period. Following them along the length of the temple, I was able to trace out the epic stories, both from Hindu mythology as well as Khmer history, with the assistance of my guide book.

Angkor Wat.

Monkeys mourn the Monkey King Valin, shot by Rama.

The damned are dragged by cords tied to their noses toward one of the 27 Hindu Hells.

From the outermost walls of the temple, I began my exploration inside. Angkor Wat is huge. Comprised of many different levels and layers, navigating the temple can be difficult. I've done my best to arrange the next series of photographs to work from the outer layers, in, and then back out again.

The inner courtyard of the second level... the architecture is stunningly complex.

Details of the tertiary layer of the temple.

Climbing to the upper levels.

The innermost courtyard of Angkor Wat, as high as visitors are allowed to access.

Temple, scaffolding, and bird... playing around with my binoculars, lining up the lens to produce shots at 30x optical zoom.

A library in the outer courtyard.

The west-facing entrance to Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat was amazing, and I'm glad that I saved it for the last day. Though each of the temples I visited was incredible, Angkor Wat is so much better preserved than any of the other sites, and the sheer size of the building is awe inspiring. As planned, I met up with my roommates, and we all rode the Rock n' Roll Tuk Tuk out into the forest. Our driver had a place in mind to stop for lunch, and there we were treated to an excellent offering of traditional Khmer and classical French cuisine. Nothing on the menu, not the roast duck, the brazed beef tenderloin, nor the lemon grass fish was over $10, and we all ate very well for very little.

Chicken, le Miel Cambodgiens et Fruits de Forêt... wicked good.

After lunch, my roommates and I stopped by the site of another ruin, similar to Ta Prohm in its state of disrepair. The temple was incredible, much larger than Ta Prohm, and riddled with the tree roots and leafy vines that give such character to the ruins. We climbed around on the rubble, exploring every corner of the site, until the sun started to get low in the sky.

Ruins of a university complex built into one of the temples.

A collapsed roof provides an access point to delve further into the temple.

Nature encroaching on the stonework.

As it was my last night in Cambodia, I had hoped to see the sun set behind Angkor Wat. My roommates proved amenable to the suggestion, and so the three of us drove back to the wat, and walked across the grounds to watch as the sun fell below its familiar towers. A thunderstorm was brewing in the west, and the vivid colors of the sky were periodically punctuated by strips of lighting, racing across the horizon.

The sun setting behind Angkor Wat.

Colors of the twilight.

Making our way back to the tuk tuk, my roommates and I watched as the electrical storm grew more intense, sending fantastic bolts of lightning across the sky. We made a few attempts to catch a flash of lighting on film, and I came frustrating close on two occasions, but with the threat of rain, everyone decided it would probably be best to to linger at Angkor Wat for long. We cross the temple grounds, and made our way back to the main road. There, the Rock n' Roll Tuk Tuk greeted us in full form, music blaring, and lights flashing, and we all hopped on board for the ride back into Siem Reap.

Boret's Rock n' Roll Tuk Tuk... if I look amazed in this photo, it's because a massive bolt of lightning just split the sky as the picture was being taken.

Having heard good things about the crab at a local restaurant, the three of us went out that night for dinner, and all ordered the same meal: steamed crab with curry. For me, this was taking a two-pronged risk. I've never been the biggest fan of curry, as I've usually found that it adds way too much heat to the meals I've had it with, and I am a wimp when it comes to spicy foods. Also, after coming back from Washington D.C., I had attempted to take apart a steamed crab only to find the amount of meat grossly disproportional to the amount of effort I put into extracting it from the shell. However, I was more than pleasantly surprised to less heat and more meat from this curried crab than I was expecting, and the meal was rather excellent. The three of us went out into town after dinner, and it was a good way to close my trip to Cambodia.

Three whole steamed crabs in a delicious Khmer curry.

The next morning I arranged transportation back to Bangkok, and by 12:30 I was whizzing passed the Cambodian countryside for the last time. The boarder crossing was much easier, and the overall trip was much quicker in reverse, taking only 7 hours from start to finish, and I was into my hostel early enough to get a final dinner in Bangkok with my new roommate.

The Cambodian countryside from the cramped confines of a crappy Camry.

Thailand's version of the "Just Say No" campaign.

My overall impression of Cambodia was, not to sound too official, highly favorable. Much like Petra in Jordan, Angkor is such a totally unique site, that any frustrations or hassle involved in getting to see it is worth it once you're there. Those wishing to avoid the overland approach can always fly into Siem Reap airport, and this, combined with tourist friendly policies, are opening the Angkor site to tourists more and more each year. Which is why, if you ever hope to visit, I would recommend that you visit soon. I get the feel that we're only a decade or so away from "Angkor Disney", and a crippling sense of artificiality to these incredible temples.

After posting this update, I plan on getting some breakfast, then heading into town for my last day in Asia. My flight for Melbourne leaves just after 21:00, so I should have enough time to check out some missed sites in Bangkok, then hop on a shuttle to the airport. While I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to being able to drink tap water, I'll still be sad to leave Asia. My time in Nepal, Thailand, and Cambodia have been so very different from my previous travel experiences, and I know that I'll want to return one day. For now, I'm on the homeward stretch, and it's English-speaking first-world countries from here through to New Hampshire (excepting Los Angeles, which, I'm pretty sure, is no longer English-speaking). Next stop: Australia!

ankgor what?

I was roused from my slumber two days ago by the insistent beeping of my iPod alarm. It was 3:55 in the morning, and I had things to do. Namely, I had to gather my belongings, and get out of the country. There was no sinister motivation behind my early morning flight to the boarder, I was just trying to give myself plenty of time to cross the notoriously congested and disorganized boarder between Thailand and Cambodia.

I spent my last full day in Thailand under the threat of rain.

After hailing a cab in the pouring rain, I made it to the bus station in time to catch the 5:00 bus to Aranyaprathet, the city in Thailand closest to the main border crossing into Cambodia. We were served "breakfast" on the way, which consisted of a roll stuffed with what I believe was lemon-flavored Crisco, and a "make-your-own" coffee. Pouring instant coffee, sugar, and non-dairy creamer into a glass of room temperature water while riding on a bus proved hopelessly ridiculous. After I sloshed half the water out of my cup, I discovered that non-dairy creamer does not dissolve very well in room temperature water, and the whole thing was a pretty pathetic, poorly thought out, badly executed, gooey mess. The same could be said of the border crossing.

Loads of Thais cross at Aranyaprathet to take advantage of the casinos looming just across the Cambodian border. So I queued up with them, and after a healthy wait, I got my passport stamped and I was out of Thailand. The fun was just getting started. I passed through a Cambodian heath quarantine-cum-scam (which only targets Westerners) without paying for the form I had just filled out, and made my way to the Visa-on-Arrival booth. There I filled out a card, which, because it didn't actually have enough room on it for my contact information, was totally useless, and I handed the official a U.S. twenty-dollar bill. Its important to use U.S. currency at the border (I'll get into Cambodia's attachment to the U.S. dollar a little later) because they'll try to get you to pay 1000 baht. That translates to a little more than US$30, so it's best to insist on giving them American currency. I also declined to pay the 100 baht bribe that they asked me for (the official tried to legitimize this request by pointing out that they had scammed the American in line ahead of me out out of more money) and I had soon secured a visa for the appropriate cost.

After an accidental diversion to a casino (the first kilometer along the border is treated like a long Duty-Free zone, and I hadn't realized that I had yet to enter Cambodia) I got my passport stamped, and hopped on a shuttle bus to the transportation station. There I secured a shared taxi for US$12 from the border to Siem Reap. When enough Westerners had showed up at the transportation station, they loaded up the taxis, and I was on my way through the Cambodian countryside.

Cruising through Cambodia.

The countryside was gorgeous, expanses of flat, mostly flooded ground as far as the eye could see. The landscape was occasionally punctuated by a small collection of huts raised on stilts above the flood level, as well as clusters of trees defiantly growing despite the absence of visible land. The weather was sunny, the views were beautiful, and the car was air-conditioned, making it an overall excellent drive. When we arrived in Siem Reap, I was met by a tuk tuk driver who took me to my hostel for free, but with the expectation that I would avail myself of his services for my visit to the temples the next day. I agreed to meet him early the next morning, and then checked into my hostel.

The hostel is fantastic, one of the best I've stayed in. For only US$8 a night, I have a large air-conditioned ensuite room to share with two other people. I can avail myself of the movie lounge (stocked with new and not-yet released films... got to love those Pakistani pirated DVDs), play a round of billiards or fooseball, pop down to the bar, or jump into the pool. I spent my first night relaxing, and acquainting myself with the hostel and my surroundings, before climbing into bed at the end of a long day.

A traffic intersection in Siem Reap.

I was up bright and early the next morning to meet my tuk tuk driver, Jui, at 6:00. Our first stop was an ATM, that I might have enough of the local currency to buy a ticket for the Angkor Archeological Park. The local currency, in this case, is the U.S. dollar. I don't many countries, other than America, that spit U.S. tens and twenties out of their ATMs, but Cambodia is one of them. The Cambodian Riel is pegged to the dollar at a rate of 4000 : 1, and typically the only time you'll use riel is in lieu of U.S. coins (1000 riel equaling a U.S. quarter). So having stocked up on greenbacks, Jui and I sped off to Angkor.

The main seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished between the 9th and 13th centuries, Angkor is home to one of the most fantastic archeological sites in the world. For the better part of four centuries, the Khmer Kings built massive temples to the gods out of materials durable enough to survive through to modern times. The same cannot be said of anything else they built, as their homes, commercial buildings, and even palaces were constructed almost exclusively of degradable materials. And so, much like Petra, only the temples and city walls remain of this once-powerful civilization.

A procession of giants involved in the Churning of the Sea of Milk of Hindu mythology.

My first stop was Angkor Thom, which was the largest of the enclosed cities of Angkor, and is now home to an array of temples. Grabbing a quick breakfast, I was soon climbing over ruins and through jungle overgrowth. While there were other tourists about, I found that as soon as I left the beaten path, I could experience almost total isolation from the modern world. It was fascinating to think that the jungle floor I was walking on could have at one time been the site of a bustling street market, or the foundation for a pre-modern home.

An elephant terrace, reflected in the marshy pool.

I made several stops throughout the day, taking plenty of time to explore each of the main temples in the area. The main temple of Angkor Thom, known as the Bayon, was especially impressive. Built up by a long succession of kings, the Bayon took on a size and complexity that make it a lot of fun to explore. The other notable feature of the site is its excessive use of face towers. There are 35 of what may have been as many as 49 faces, most pointing in each cardinal direction, scattered throughout the Bayon, and they have become one of the iconic images of Angkor.

A raised road leading to the Palace temple.

Face towers on the Bayron.

My favorite stop of the day was at a small temple known as Ta Prohm. Its architecture is not all that fantastic, nor is its size that impressive, yet Ta Prohm has become one of the most photographed temples in Angkor by virtue of its state of ruin. More than any other temple in Angkor, Ta Prohm fits the classic image of a ruined jungle temple, with vines crawling up pillars, and tree roots bursting through walls. Its been used by many filmmakers, most recently in the Angelina Jolie film "Tomb Raider", for the way that it so perfectly fits the stereotype, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it.

Heading into Ta Prohm.

A silk cotton tree working its way into the architecture.

Reclining in the shade of a temple, and a tree.

After leaving Ta Phrom, I made a pit stop back at my hostel to grab batteries and eat a late lunch/early dinner. The last site I saw that day was atop the only hill in the area, on which a temple has been constructed. The temple itself is not remarkably distinct from most of the others in the area, but the views is offers are spectacular. Watching the sun set over Cambodia, the convolution of the setting sun, and a far-off thunderstorm threw a rather impressive rainbow over the temple. It was a good way to to end the day.

Rainbow.

Crainbow. (haha, get it?)

The sun, slowly setting over the Khmer ruins.

Painting the sky.

Today has gotten off to a slow start, as this morning it was pouring down rain. I've rented a bike for the day, and once I get this posted, I'll be heading out into the sunny afternoon to take a look at some more temples. With any luck, I'll make to Angkor Wat today, and perhaps revisit Ta Prohm, depending on how much cycling I'm up to. For now, it's time to hit the road and see some more temples.