Tag: Cambodia

Loo Praise

I am at an age where I appreciate access to free and clean toilets. So here is a shout out to all the toilet teams of Angkor Wat Archeological Park: Thank you! First class service and high hygienic standard.

This was my favourite one, near the South Gate to Bayon.

On my cycling trips around Angkor I stopped at every toilet on the way but at this one I stopped at least 7 times. As I am probably one of the few tall, blue eyed tourist with short blonde hair on a bicycle I was easily recognisable. I was already greeted with waves on my second visit. They sell cold drinks. I must have looked like in need of caffeine and they offered me Nescafe Espresso. I got hooked. I would tell them what day I would come around again and they had 2 cold cans hidden at the bottom of the cooling box, ready for me.
Sure, they make profit, but still a fab service.

Fruit Fruit Fruit

Many stalls throughout Angkor Wat Archeological Park offer various food. I usually opted for fresh fruit. Look at this variety! So yummy.

The purple one is dragon fruit. Also comes with white flesh. No distinct flavour, not very juicy either, but still refreshing,

So many feet

Almost stepped on this one coming back from dinner one evening. I was instantly imagining the centipede wearing flip-flops and having to take them all off before entering the temple. I am clearly watching too many animation movies!

Ant Alarm

Among other creepy crawlers and winged beauties ants are everywhere, from tiny to way to big for my liking, from black to brown and red. The red ones are apparently a nice snack if you are very desperate. A German group I’ve met told me their guide would just pick them of trees, munching on them while explaining temple history to them.

A whole colony seems to be moving to a new home. I could see tiny eggs being transported. Fascinating.

Volume up to hear them gnaw on the dry leaf.

Everywhere I locked my bicycle to there were the red ants, instantly climbing all over it. I started distracting them with some dehydrated papaya. They might taste yummy but they do bite!

Tep Pranam

This small temple is actually still in use today. There were also some local residences nearby which was nice to see. The walled city of Angkor Thom was a major city at one point and I would have expected more evidence of normal housing, not just temples.

Terrace of the Leper King

Wait what? Yes, there was another King called Leper King besides the one of Jerusalem.


The statue was called the “Leper King” because discolouration and moss growing on it was reminiscent of a person with leprosy. However, there is also the Cambodian legend of the Angkorian king Yasovarman who had leprosy. In Cambodia he is known as Dharmaraja.

View towards Prasat Suor Prat with tuk-tuks waiting.

Bayon – Bas-Reliefs

I couldn’t get enough of these beautiful carvings. They went all around the temple, some between 10-20 meters at least. I went back another day just to focus on them in detail.
Most of the carvings show battles, but also daily life, and animals. All of them tell a story. Zoom in for more details (yes, there is a crocodile eating a poor bloke that fell or was pushed off a boat into the river).