i left for banteay srei at 8am this morning, my tuk tuk driver discretely waiting for me about a block away outside my guesthouse. banteay srei is famous for its sandstone carvings, said to be the best in angkor. unfortunately its sort of far away, and it took about an hour just to drive there on sometimes bumpy and potholed roads. by the time i got there, there was already a crowd, busloads of japanese, korean, and taiwanese tourists. it didn't really matter anyway, half of banteay srei was closed for renovations, and you couldn't even walk into the central compound, so a lot of carvings could only be seen from a distance. all this for US$12, which was the cost of the ride. coming back, i asked my driver to make a quick stop at ta prohm, where the noonday sun had driven most of the crowds into hiding, so i had the place to myself, for a while at least. coming back into town, i took a shower then went out looking for food, coming into the busy part of siem reap (which at its best, still resembles a dusty outpost). i went to a place called "happy pizza angkor," and had myself a small pizza. there's no mention why the pizza is happy, but i could already guess, and after finishing the pizza, i'm pretty sure those little green herbs on my pie weren't just oregano.

road to banteay srei

indra on airavata (3-headed elephant)

siva and uma riding nandi the bull

varuna (west god) riding hamsa (sacred goose)

narasimha attacking hiranyakasipu

khandava forest fire

valin versus sugriva (monkey brothers)

ta prohm revisited

happy pizza

watermelon shake (apsara dancers)