Tonlé Sap- The Great Lake

Before we headed to the airport for our flight to Vietnam and our ship, we had a lake cruise on Tonlé Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia.

It was...interesting.

It would have been fine if I hadn't had that panic attack over the python.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

We headed out to see some floating villages and experience how the fishing families live. (note to Crystal: stick with the temples).

Driving away from civilization the city, I noticed a marked change in standard of living.



And unfortunately, the Cambodian government has no control on the garbage situation.  It's sad.

We were bused into a shiny new (not even finished) port reception area.



Where touring boats awaited us.



Actually, those shiny new ones weren't ours.  Check the port reception photo for ours.

We are beginning to understand the complexities of net fishing.





The houseboats look very much like the houseboats in Bangkok.



But are actually IN the lake.



Kids play in a boat instead of on land, I guess.

There are reminders that one is in the 21st century.



Can you find the rooster?



I feel like a voyeur as we ogle these families.



I'm really uncomfortable with this feeling.





I wonder what they make of these boatloads of very, very  WHITE people starring into their homes and snapping photos..........



Things are really starting to pull at me.... the simplicity of fishing life, the modernity of telecommunications...the starkness of fishing nets versus satellite dishes.

But then, there's this sweet face.





Now, I'm up for almost any photo-op....you know that.

But, somewhere along the great tourism way, some brillant so-and-so thought American tourists might like a photo of a kid draped in a python.



Um...have I mentioned I'm phobic about snakes??

I was already feeling conflicted and uncomfortable, and as soon as I saw this family on the OTHER side of the boat, the panic started...sweaty palms, heart racing, shallow breathing... I tried to control it as best I could...

Hey maybe taking photos, and looking at the scene through a lens will help....and it did.  Until the snakeboat came to OUR side of the tourboat.

God bless my mother--I practically crawled into her lap. I swear to Gawd, if that snake had gotten any closer,  I would have walked on water.  Thankfully, a few others were (almost) as unnerved as I, and our guide made sure the boat moved back.  They also assured us the python was dead (I don't believe that for a minute).

Well, that's why there aren't any more photos until we get back to land.  I didn't stop shaking--hell, I didn't stop hyperventilating-- for about 30 minutes.

Didn't need that afternoon cup of coffee, either.

Back on terra firma (blessedly snake FREE terra firma) we drove past a lovely patch of waterlilies.



(probably has a bunch of pythons in it, though).



(probably a python lurking just under that waterlily on the right).

Ok...I agree...I can do Cambodia...I'll work the landmines, if someone else will deal with the snakes.

Ta Prohm- Lara Croft's Hangout

After lunch, we headed to the temple-in-the-jungle known as Ta Prohm.

A movie fan will recognize it as the location for the jungle scenes of the movie "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider".  Yes, this is the place Angelina Jolie ran around.  And it is magnificent.





Here the jungle is an integral part of the temple-or has become so over the years.  Rather than remove the trees and rebuild, the temple has been left as it was found, with the encroaching jungle supporting the very walls.





It's eerie, it's unusual, it's spooky, but at the same time it's totally organic and natural.











I feel like the tree was almost melting into the stone.



More doors.









Mama really liked it!



So did I!  I'm understanding that each of the temples is TOTALLY unique.  Makes me want to explore more.

Banteay Srei

Before lunch, we drove about an hour away from Angkor Wat (it's only about 16 miles/25 kilometers away from the main group of temples, but the roads are horrendous!) to Banteay Srei, or the Citadel of the Women. It is known for its beautiful sandstone carvings.





Compared to the others, it is a tiny complex.







But its carvings are still so clear, it is hard to believe it is over a thousand years old.



Another beautiful Khmer child.



















An unparalleled jewel.

More faces of Cambodia

I can't resist posting some more images of these beautiful village children!











Boys are boys, the world 'round.













And finally, this last one.  I know I've already posted it as one of my EP366 photos, but I post it here again.....because, simply, I think it is the best photo I've ever taken.  And it was totally spontaneous.  A child, playing in the dirt with a stick...just as all children do.