Temples, Tuk Tuks, and Van

So here are the pictures from Cambodia!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=53802&l=292b4&id=526956216

We've been exploring temples for the past two and half days.

Now I must have a moment to talk about Van (pronounced like Vaughn), our tuk tuk driver. As I mentioned he snagged us at the boat and we hired him to drive us around to temples. He's a good dresser, very shy, and handsome. (yes I have a tiny crush on Van) He always shows up an hour before we tell him to, and when we run from breakfast to our room he shouts out: "Sky! Hello!" and waves so we know he's there. God we love Van. He's by far the coolest person we've met since we embarked upon this adventure.

Well, these temples--man, they are huge!!! There are dozens of these massive ancient temples scattered throughout the area. We have a huge breakfast, pack up the puppets and we're off.

The first one we see, we jump out of the tuk tuk and climb the steep steep (steep!) steps so high to overlook the flat green land. "Wow--it's so tall!"

And we are off to the next--the Shiva temple--the citadel of women--which is much smaller but decorated with intricate ornate carvings. "How did they do this?" "How ever did they move these stones?" And "Man, it is getting HOT." We are dripping.

On the long drive to the last temple it starts to rain a little. Faithful Van, gets out and rolls down little plastic sides to keep us dry. As he does so, it stops. He rolls them back up. A little kid stops to say hi and marvels at our puppets.

We land at the last which is described as where all faiths meet--as we walk down the long path, we are accosted by two small girls selling bracelets.
"Lady, you want bracelet, lady? 1 for 1 dollar." "Ok 3 for one dollar." "ok five for one dollar." Our no's are lost on them. Betsy storms ahead. (It's kind of funny to watch her get worked up by these little kids) I am laughing as the girls just hang by my side. We hit the entrance and they leave us and the rain begins.
We hover in a huge stone door way while it pours and pours. When it lets up a little we wander in. It seems to extend in front of us forever, these long narrow stone walls. And to our sides. It thunders and the rain falls on the leaves and strange birds sing all over--it's like a great mysterious labyrinth. And no one is here. (If only the camera battery hadn't been dead--alas!)

But we make up for pictures the next day. The first temple we visit is inundated with Japanese tourists. They are loud. They move in hoards. We hate them and move to the sides. The trees grow right up out of the ruins, and stretch their roots like hungry fingers over the stone.

At the next, serene faces watch in all directions and we stare into them on a high terrace. "Imagine it like a giant sand castle," I suggest. "Oh yeah," says Betsy. "Or imagine that giants built it. And it was actually really easy. These stones were just like Legos for them."

Finally, we land at Angkor Wat, the largest and most famous. We have a picnic in a side temple. It's hot (again). We hear thunder in all directions, but here, it is sunny. The temple is empty. We wander around the edge and stare at the carvings--follow a monkey eating bugs.

Van takes us tired, dusty, sweaty girls home. We shower and inadvertently nap in the heavenly air conditioning. Cambodia has become white wine land for us and we find a garden table, our wine comes in an ice bucket, and we toast. Cambodia. Wow.

[have landed in Laos and we leave for a three day trek tomorrow morning--big green hills all around us...]