Monday, Jan. 21, 2008: Siem Reap, Cambodia

I left Phnom Penh about a week ago now and have come to Siem Reap to see the Angkor Wat Temple ground. So far I have been to Bayon and the surrounding smaller temples. Bayon is the temple with the faces and is very impressive. Some say the face is that of the Buddha; others say the face is that of the Cambodian people. Also, there are numerous freizes depicting life in the Bayon under Jayavarnum II or the VII, I am not sure. The rock freizes are probably some of the best is the world. I took a number of pictures and was surprised to see that the temple carvings are a surprising "non"colour so everything looks like more an absence rather than a presence of colour. This goes for all of the temples that I looked at in the Bayon area. Some of the smaller temples were Baphuon,Ta Promm. Also the area is large and there is a lot of walking so I was pretty much done in by the end of the day.

Another ïmpression"of Siem Reap is all of the building that is going on; the same in Phnom Penh so you get the impression that the Gov't is really working to get past the past and move into the 21st C. Like Thailand, Cambodia looks to be fairly prosperous and global tourism is a big factor in this. The "modern"buildings are not at all like the traditional ones; the modern ones are of cement block with some artistry; the traditional ones are of wood and elevated. The modern one is heavy but nice; the traditional one is light and nice too, but of wood. Wood is out because of global warming and deforestation, so the teak and mahoghany are used just a little.

Hillary has won in Nevada!!!!!! So, she is looking pretty good right now. It is going to take a whole lot of something to get us through the next phase. I, of course, am opting for experience over words because time is the critical factor and experience can deal with time better - got to move this thing along as quickly as possilbe.

These are my thoughts for today.