RTWbis

This morning we drove 40km to Banteay Srei, built soon after Ankor Wat, but of a warmer, rose-coloured stone, now having a rusty hue. It's much smaller than Angkor Wat, and therefore much more digestible, especially if you are almost the only ones there . On the way back to Siem Reap, we visited  Golden Silk   -- an enterprise far out in the rice fields started by a Cambodian woman who grew up in the French town of Colmar, but retur ed to Cambodia with her French husband to help develop the silk industry for the benefit of people in the villages and hamlets of her country. At Golden Silk they grow mulburry trees, feed the leaves to silk worms (actually caterpillars), boil the empty cocoons to dissolve the saliva, extract the silk thread, remove any impurities, and prepare for weaving. The first step after selecting the design (Golden Silk originals) is to take a single strand of silk, mount the end on a rack the lengths and width of the fabric to be made, wind the st...

The four of us departed at 7 AM for the "small circuit" tour: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, and Ta Prom (aka the Angelina Jolie Tomb Raider temple). In a way, the most impressive thing about Angkor Wat is something that no-one who ever set foot in the place when it was built ( ) or during its hay-day (  )  ever saw, nor can it be seen today. I'm referring to what it would have looked like from the air at that time. The closest we can come to visualizing that is the model in the National Museum.  For the visitor then or now, it is simply too huge to be appreciated in its entirety.  I suppose the same could be said about Versailles. As at Beng Malea, there were almost no areas of Angkor Wat without or with the walls that felt at all crowded. Some parts were virtually deserted. Where is everybody? Phung (cottonwood) trees at work Geoff at work Sydney shoots a creeping Phung tree root Apsaras (dancing heavenly n...

Morning excursion to Beng Malea -- a pre-Angkor Wat temple lying mostly in ruins, 70 km north of Siem Reap. Rain, roots, insects, time and eventually gravity have caused most of it to come tumbling down.   One translation of "Beng Malea" could be "pile of rock." But the quiet forest setting is superb , and visually there were many treats. Best of all, there were very few Chinese or otherwise. On returning to Siem Reap, we lunched next to the flea market, followe by return to the Angkor Village Hotel to await Sydney and Geoff's arrival from Bali. We dined together at the Sokkakh River Lounge.

First order of business was to transfer to a smaller, less gloomy room where bathroom was next to bedroom, and aircon somewhat more convincing. Out and about -- first stop at the Angkor National Museum showing the antiquities of Angkor Wat and the remainder of the Khmer kingdoms' histories. Took a $3 tuk-tuk to the Three Sister restaurant where we had a most satisfactory $5 lunch (including beer), followed by a tour of the Artisans D'Angkor. This is a cooperative of 48 crafts manufacturing establishment around Cambodia, of which the largest is in Siem Reap. The produce silks, porcelains laquer-ware, and reproductions of traditional Khmer sculpture in wood and copper. And a very nice young woman showed Kathy a new way to tie the knot ! Took a tuk-tuk-tuk to the Angkor Village Resort -- sister to the Angkor Village Hotel -- for a massage. Lovely ride, lovely garden setting, lovely massage. Dinner at Chanrey Tree Restaurant was V tasty.

Our overnight flight from Amman arrvied in Bangkok at 14:30, and we donned our surgical masks before leaving the plane. Our flight to Siem Reap departed a few hours later, arriving at 18:30. The Angkor Village hotel is very near the center, and has much to recommend it.  The lotus pond was dreamy.... as was the Toe Twinkle . Geoff at work - breakfast table on the left

A morning in the flea market, followed by a walk up the boardwalk towards Tel Aviv for a lunch at Manta Ray restaurant by the sea. Dinner at the Drisco with Barry and Deborah, then 8:45 PM departure for Ben Gurion airport, 11:30 PM departure for Amman on Royal Jordanian, arrival 0:15 AM, with 02:15 AM departure for Bangkok on Royal Jordanian. Melatonin...snore. Manta Ray on beach a Jaffa

There's not much to see at Caesarea when the sun is shining, except for the sea. When it's drizzling, not even that. But further up the Mediterranean coast, the crusader city of Acre (aka Akko, aka Akka) was something else. Hall of the Hospitallers Entrance to Hospitallers Fortress Followed by a great meal at Uri Bori's seafood restaurant by the sea. Followed by a great meal at Uri Bori's seafood restaurant by the sea, consisting of shriimp in cream sauce, asparagus and gorgonzola for him, and sea bass in a cauldron, with coconut sauce, chili and apples for her. Followed by a visit to the Baha'i Gardens and Memorial in Haifa, which is the seat of the Baha'i, religious order, founded in 1874 by   Baháʼu'lláh.    Followed by a 90 minute drive back to Jaffa, and dinner at the Onzo restaurant.