Cambodia 2015

Tuesday10November

Waking up at Arunras Guest House.

This morning, we leave the city by bus to reach Siem Reap, Cambodia's second capital, as it's next to this city that the famous temples of Angkor are located.

Across the street, our bus stop.

Prominently displayed in the hotel lobby, the royal family. From left to right, the current king, Norodom Sihamoni, his predecessor Norodom Sihanouk, his own father who passed away in 2012, and the Queen Mother, his mother Norodom Monineath.

The same building houses the Arunras Hotel and the Arunras Guest House, the latter for tighter budgets!

Here we are at our bus stop with our tickets. Now we just have to see it appear at the end of the street...

Meanwhile, I'm capturing some images...

And off we go! Despite our purchased tickets, we only have 3 seats out of 4... No big deal, we'll take turns during the 3-hour journey!

During the break, rearranging luggage... including a scooter...  

Here we are in our little haven of peace for the next 5 days! With a pool, please! One of the most pleasant things to recover well from the marathon days that await us!

One of our 2 rooms.

For this first afternoon, we visit the city of Siem Reap.

The entrance to Preah Promreath Pagoda passes directly through the various stupas to the altar dedicated to Buddha.

To the left, a long fresco depicting the life of Buddha faces the pagoda.

These are painted bas-reliefs. Each raised character stands out from the wall.

Before becoming the Buddha, Siddhartha was a Prince. In this scene, he renounces all his riches by cutting his hair, and gives everything he owns to his faithful servant Chana, who is completely dismayed by the situation.

Small anthology of portraits...

To the left, Buddha remains imperturbable in his meditation in the face of demonic provocations. With an imperceptible gesture of his right hand, he causes an earthquake, repelling the disturbers. This is one of the postures most representing the Buddha, called "touching the earth as witness"...

The interior of the pagoda.

To the right, human remains given to vultures, which we had already seen in another temple...

The back of the pagoda and its peacocks, symbols of wisdom and purity.

Here we are out of the pagoda on a Siem Reap promenade with its rows of white lampposts.

We continue with the Preah Ang Chek Preah Ang Chorm Pagoda where a ceremony is taking place with music.

In exchange for a few bills, the monks pour water on flowers and into bottles.  

We finish our walk at Wat Kesararam Temple.

The immense stupa in the center of the site.

A typical loc lac with its beef, rice, and egg for dinner!

For the evening, we let ourselves be tempted by the Cambodian Circus, a famous small school for acrobats, a real springboard for young athletes towards an international career.