The newest weight loss fad is here. All you have to do is fly to Cambodia, in the middle of their summer, and tromp around Angkor Wat a while. Oh whoops. There went my secret. I'm pretty sure this is the most I've sweat in my life. On the bright side, I probably lost about 10 lbs.
Angkor Wat is simply incredible. There are so many beautiful carvings and 'ruins' to explore. I can only imagine what the place looked like when it was first constructed some 1100 years ago. They are doing a lot of restoration work right now, on a number of the buildings. Both to repair damage done by careless tourists (sigh) and to repair some natural damage, just because it's so incredibly old.
The top part of the main site was closed today, for a Buddhist holy day. Part of me was relieved, because that would have been another pile of stairs to climb. Our driver/guide took us to another site to walk through. He knew I was a gringo, so they avoided some 'hot' options that didn't have much in the way of shade. I <3 Mao. This second site was overrun with trees. They were busting through walls and growing in and among the stonework. Very Lord of the Rings like with trees trumping the man made objects.
We didn't see the elephants that they have there (for the tourists), because they only bring them out in the evening. I wanted to see one, since a lot of Cambodian artwork depicts them in one form or another. We did see a number of monkeys, but didn't get too close. I was told someone on a previous trip got bit by one. Didn't really feel like getting a rabies shot today.
All in all, an awesome morning and a neat way to wrap up my Cambodian adventure. This afternoon I'll try to get my souvenirs all squared away, then off to the airport for the beginning of my 30ish hour return trip home (long layover).
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