Back in Chiang Mai

My Cambodia trip was much the same as the previous one. I enjoyed Siem Reap. Adam took me bar hopping a few nights, and templeing in the day. I went back to Sihounkville and played in the sea and enjoyed another 'snorkie' trip.
Upon my return I bypassed downtown BKK and hopped a train to Hua Hin. The Red Shirts are strangling the business district with their protest rallies. When I was ready to head north. I took the direct bus to Chiang Mai, not entering BKK at all.
One evening, Pang took Mike and I on her motorbike to visit Ooys bar. The beautiful Saly joined us. Saly works in an Italian hotel during the tourist seaon. She makes enough money that she can help her aunt and cousin, and still have enough to 'leelex' in C.M. during the winter.
There was a band, and an elephant wandered by. For 20 baht, (60 cents) you can feed him a bag of cut sugar cane.
Mike the lady killer always has two or three on his lineup. Pang pulled the funniest joke. She rang Mikes mobile assuming he would leave the table to talk privately. She flirted with him anonomously (sp) for a minute or so before birsting with laughter. He took it well.
I have been here five nights. Mike went home yesterday. All my pals are gone. I have Kims cut stones. It's 105 degrees and the air is very polluted from the burned rice crop chaff. When a breeze blows it feels like an oven door being opened. The Mekong river level is the lowest its been in 50 years. It's too low for shipping traffic. I'm going back to the south today. I can train into and out of BKK without Red Shirt interference. Hua Hin will be hot, but it's on the sea. Perhaps I'll visit one of the islands.
More later?
Doablah

Signs

Roulos temples

These stones scattered about were the exterior wall. They fell away who knows when. The original Khmers were practiced Hindu. Here issome Sandscrit written on an entrance. The written language changed to look like modern Khmer when they converted to Buddhism. They didn't remove the old scroll work.

Templed out? Never!

This is Adam. I hired him again to take me out. We went out of town to an area called the Roulos temples. They are the oldest, dating back to about 800 A.D.

Revisiting Siem Reap.

This first image is a three cheese salad. I was dining outdoors, but under cover. Before I finished the cheeses were melted. these children are playing in the back yard of their home.

Night Market

This first image is from the deck of my hotel looking across at the night market. In the upper right corner behind the white car is a day market with hundreds of tiny family run shops. There is barely enough room to move about. I don't know how they can secure their product at. They probably don't.

Visa Run

Halloh. Long time no blog. What with me being to stupid to work Picasa 3.6, I had to find a coputer with an older version loaded.
I had such a fun time in Cambodia I went back for a few weeks. These monkies are everywhere in Phenom Penh. Some people enclose their decks with fish net to keep them away from their stuff.