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28 June 2002 |
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| "You want to buy a guidebook?" "Postcards, ten for a dollar." "You want a cold drink?" "Silk scarf?" Each temple we visited had its own group of little urchins peddling identical wares. How do you say "no" and not sound like some grumpy tourist? We tried, but I'm not sure we were convincing. I joked with one young lad that I would rather play volley ball with him. "No problem, you pay me one dollar if I win." was the reply! But once we got inside we were more-or-less left alone to enjoy the splendour. There's little point in giving a detailed description of the temples as others have done it brilliantly already, suffice it to say that they vary from impressive to magnificent. It's hard to imagine how big an area they cover and how many there are, let's just say that hiring a car is a virtual necessity. We've seen a lot of monuments in our time, but these are up there with the best. If you close your eyes you can almost imagine what it must have been like to live here when the Khmer empire was at its height in the 11th and 12th centuries. | ||||