beijing okay

Korean holiday package tourists hurriedly leaving Bantey Srei, north of Angkor Wat.

The Cambodian countryside at dusk.

Cloth seller

Waterfall near an incredible site; thousands of 1000+ year old phallic carvings, or lingas, in the actual riverbed.

Hideous, giant ants covering the rainforest near the northern temples. One bit me and it hurt terribly.

A worker in the "Lady Temple," or Bantey Srei.

The beautiful hills and rainforest area north of Siem Reap. Sandy and I hiked for a few thousands meters to get to a special Angkor "temple" carved into the riverbed.

Some of the before mentioned riverbed carvings. These stretched for a few hundred meters down the river, although much has been worn away or damaged.


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In other news...


YESTERDAY, I sent my entire hideous Chinese visa application (all 6 pages with printouts of flights, hotels and travel plans plus my precious passport.) to a service center in Texas. The shipping was really expensive with DHL, but safe and trustworthy. Within two weeks I should receive everything back, along with a 60 or, hopefully, 90 day renewable visa.

TODAY, I met an American girl who lives and works in Siem Reap. She invited me to visit her modern apartment that she shares with her boyfriend in a nearby village, which has a pool and a nice view, so I may take up the offer.

TOMORROW, I have a Khmer language lessons with a monk at Wat Bo temple. He's going to teach me the alphabet and some basic phrases. I'm looking in the markets for a tape recorder, but the prices are high and I skeptical of their authenticity. Other adventures are planned, including going with Meth and spending the night in a disputed Khmer temple near the Thai border, an uphill impossible thing with no ticket counters. Hopefully it's possible.

ALSO, I've been wandering the city and it's surrounding villages, eating, drinking bad coffee, doing crosswords, writing (surprisingly), painting less and watching too much of the National Geographic Channel.