My last full day in Siem Reap is a busy, more typical day of seeing as many temples as possible. First stop is Preah Khan. The temple was undergoing restoration when I first visited eight years ago, and work is still going on. Big tour groups seem to avoid the temple, probably because it’s such a maze, with many nooks and crannies to get lost in. My guide leads me to one of those out of the way nooks where, if you crouch down and peer through a window, you can see a beautiful sculpture of a woman in amongst the fallen rubble outside the opening. Some people believe it’s the queen of the time, and there are little votives left to her.

From Preah Khan, the next stop is Neak Pean, one of the most unusual temples at Angkor. The temple seems to have served some sort of hospital function. The main tower of the temple sits on a circular stone island in the middle of a large square pond (which is dry most of the time). Four smaller square pools surround the large pond. Small chapels in each of the smaller pools contain gargoyles in different shapes that allow water to flow from the main pool to the smaller ones.

Our last stop of the morning is Ta Som, a small temple with many excellent carvings. Perhaps the most photogenic spot is the eastern gate, which is overgrown with a large tree.

After a good lunch in town at Khmer Kitchen, it’s back to temple trekking. First stop is Banteay Kdei, another of the temples built by that great builder king Jayavarman VII. The temple is still largely unrestored, but it looks a lot better than it did when I visited eight years ago. Dara gives me a good tip, which is to walk around the south side of the temple first, just beyond the dry inner moat. You get a great view of the wall of the ‘Hall of the Dancing Girls’ as well as the sanctuary. We then go in through the west gate and walk back through the middle of the sanctuary.

From Banteay Kdei, it’s just a short trip to Ta Prohm, the quintessential jungle enshrouded temple. Unfortunately, it’s become so famous that it’s crawling with tourists as all hours of the day. Restoration work has started, so it probably won’t be a jungle enshrouded temple for long.

Our last stop is the rather unremarkable Pre Rup temple, where we’ve come to enjoy the sunset, along with a few hundred other people. It is a nice sight, despite the crowd. Before it gets completely dark, we head into town, where I’ve just enjoyed a fantastic dinner are Les Orientalistes. I went with selections from the French menu, and was surprised by the generous portions.

Tomorrow, I’ll make a quick trip out to the floating village on Tonle Sap, and then head back to Bangkok.

Day two in Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. I definitely got my exercise today.

It started out easy enough, with a visit to Banteay Srei. Although small, this is one of the most finely decorated temples. It’s about an hour’s drive from the main archaeological park. We get there early in the morning, before the big tour buses have arrived. There were still plenty of people about. When I was here eight years ago, there were very few other visitors, and you could go where-ever you wanted. Now, the central sanctuary area, which stands on a low platform, is off limits. You can still easily see how delicate the carving is.

From Banteay Srei, we head further into the Kulen mountains to see Kbal Spean, otherwise known as "the River of 1,000 Lingas". Getting there requires a 30 minute hike up a mountain. Most of it is an easy walk up-hill through a thick forest of spindly trees, but there are a couple of very steep spots that require a little climbing. Along the way, you’ll see some fantastic rock formations as well as a couple of good view points. On the way here, my guide Dara was telling me that, as a teenager, he came here with some friends to see the carvings. At the time, the area was a hideout of the Khmer Rouge, and they had to bribe them with cigarettes and instant noodles to show him the way through the mines and up the mountain. Seeing the rock ledges and lookout points, you can easily understand why the KR used the area as a hideout.

While the natural scenery would be a good reason for visiting here in itself, it’s what the Khmer did to the river a thousand years ago that makes this an important spot on the temple trail. Along the stone bed of the river, from a natural stone bridge down to a waterfall, the ancient Khmers carved thousands of lingum shapes into the riverbed. There are also some carvings of Shiva and Vishnu on the boulders along the river banks. The waterfall at the end of the linga stretch is quite pretty, and apparently was once used as a royal bathing spot.

After Kbal Spean, we’re not quite done with today’s exercise. I have yet another ‘unknown’ temple to see: Beng Melea. While the temple was actually known in the 1800s, it was largely forgotten until quite recently. Some of the brush has been cleared, and there have been attempts at stabilization, but otherwise the temple is completely un-restored. Huge piles of stones cover some parts, and many passages are completely blocked due to roof collapses. In fact, to see much of the temple at all, you need to walk on top of the collapsed roofs. Wooden walkways have been built in some parts to make this easier and safer. Although Beng Melea is not a temple-mountain like Angkor Wat, there’s still a lot of climbing involved. At one point, you have to squeeze through a window, then climb up a pile of stones to get back on the trail. The temple is about two hours’ drive from Siem Reap, far enough off the tourist trail so that you’ll only see a small handful of other visitors, if any.

On the way back to Siem Reap, we stop by a couple of temples in the Roulos Group, Preah Ko and Bakong. The Roulos temples mark the spot of the very first capital of the Khmer kingdom, Hariharalaya. Preah Ko is a small temple with a simple platform at its center holding six towers. It’s very reminiscent of the Prambanan near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The king who build Preah Ko was apparently held captive at the court of central Java, and so was perhaps inspired by the great temple complex there. The Bakong temple is very much like the temples at Angkor, which were built later. It’s quite pretty in the approaching sunset.

For more pictures of all the temples and sights mentioned here, see my on-line photo gallery.

What a difference eight years makes. It’s been that long since I was last able to visit the temples of Angkor. I’ve been meaning to get back for several years, to update my guides and see more, but schedule and budget issues kept getting in the way. I finally decided to just do it and plan far enough in advance to work around it.

I knew that Siem Reap had developed a lot over the years, as memories of the wars faded and tourism to the world heritage site grew. Some acquaintances had commented that the town had actually improved with development, but I was skeptical, since that never happens in Asia. I’m glad to say I was wrong. On arriving today, I’m greeted with a city that is much cleaner than I remembered, with many restored buildings as well as new ones. Sure, some of the new buildings aren’t quite as nice as they could be, but as yet I haven’t seen any outright monstrosities.

Since I’ve arrived rather early, my guide Dara suggests that we go straight to the archaeological park, since the hotel probably won’t be ready for me anyway. He wants to stop at Angkor Wat temple first, which I thought was better saved for later in the day, but as he rightly points out, it will be packed with people in the afternoon, so if I want to get good photos, we should go in the morning. It turns out he is right, and I quickly learn to listen to Dara when it comes to avoiding crowds and finding the best spots for pictures.

After we finish with the temple, we head back to Siem Reap to check into my hotel. I would have liked to stay at the Hotel De La Paix to find out what everyone’s been raving about, but as I’m trying to watch the budget for this trip, I opt for the Bopha Angkor. It’s a really good compromise. While the Bopha won’t win any awards for luxury, my deluxe room is huge, with a large outdoor area to sit, and equally large indoor sitting room, and all the basic mod-cons. It’s also right by the pool, and far enough from the street to be very quiet at night.

In the late afternoon, we head back to the archaeological park, this time to Angkor Thom, with it’s mysterious Bayon temple in its middle. This is another of Dara’s counter-intuitive choices that proves to be right on target. Most people visit the temple in the morning. But in the late afternoon, there’s only a couple of other small groups visiting the temple. The light in the early evening at this time of year gives the temples a great color.

After the Bayon, we walk though the jungle to the Baphuon. The air is rather cool, especially in the shade of the trees, and it’s a very pleasant walk. The Baphuon is still being put back together. When I was last here, there was just an immense field of stones spread out around the base of the pyramid. Now, it’s about half done.

We make our way through an overgrown gate on the north side of the Baphuon into the old royal enclosure. The palaces were build of wood, so nothing remains, but at the center of the enclosure is the Phimeanakas, a small pyramidal temple that supposedly held a magical genie that the king had to make love to every night to keep his kingdom. At least that’s what the locals told a Chinese envoy in the 12th century!

We continue our walk northwards and exit the royal enclosure by another gate. We then come to the small and little visited temple of Prah Palilay. The temple is most interesting for the soaring silk-cotton trees which sprout from around the base of the tower. While the site has been cleared, the temple is otherwise un-restored.

We end our walk at the royal square with the terrace of the leper king and the elephant terrace. The latter is amazing for its size and grandeur.

I end my first day back at Angkor with dinner at one of the many new restaurants that have cropped up since I was here last. I chose Viroth’s based on some recommendations, and the fact it’s closest to the hotel. The garden setting was beautiful and the food was amazing. The menu is mainly Khmer, with a few Thai and other Asian dishes thrown in.

Yet another new section has been added to the large and popular Chatuchak weekend market in Bangkok. The new “JJ Mall” is a large, indoor, air-conditioned market. Yes, you read that right, there’s now an air-conditioned section of the market.

JJ Mall has three floors, most of which are divided into small stalls very similar to the layout of the outdoor market. The merchandise on offer is largely similar to the rest of the market, although you can also expect to find jewelry, mobile phone and computer-related products here. In addition, there is a food court on the second floor as well as several restaurants on the first floor. Unlike the outdoor area, which only operates on Saturday and Sunday, JJ Mall is open every day from 10:00 to 21:00.

While I wouldn’t skip the rest of the market to see JJ Mall, the new venue will undoubtedly prove to be a welcome addition, where you can cool off after a few hours in the heat of the market.

Our on-line guide to Chatuchak Market has been updated to include information on the new mall, as well as its location relative to the other parts of the market.

Okay, it’s been a slow start to the year. It generally seems like not much happens around Asia between the western new year and Chinese New Year. The newspapers still have to fill up their pages, so it was with some amusement that I read in today’s Bangkok Post about an elephant problem in one of the provinces bordering Bangkok. The problem is actually rather serious, but it’s still an amusing image. The first few paragraphs of the story follow:

Elephants stop, loot trucks on dark road
by MANIT SNUBBOON

Chachoengsao - The chief of Khao Ang Rue Nai wants the road through the wildlife sanctuary closed at night after a herd of elephants held up and looted a string of cargo trucks. About midnight last Saturday a herd of 20 elephants blocked route No.3259 (the Ban Nong Kog-Ban Wang Nam Phon road) holding up 10 trucks, Yoo Senatham said.

They tipped some vehicles on their side, spilling the cargoes on the road so their young could eat, and gorged on sugarcane and tapioca.

The full story can be found at the Bangkok Post web site.