Wednesday 10 February 2010

Tuesday 9th February







Next day - more ruins.

Picked up by speedygontuk-tuk we head off to the more remote sites. These are less well preserved but do show an interesting variety of architectural styles. The carvings at Bantei Shrei being the most impressive.

On the way back we stop at a roadside stall to try the palm-sugar toffee. This is part of a sustainable development project, encouraging local people to maintain forests and diversify their income. In general it appeared successful and had spread widely in the locality. Less sustainable was a local butterfly farm which paid farmers to harvest pupae, hoping to educate them about the need to preserve butterflys and their ecosystem. Not sure how this one will survive when the external funding runs out.

Had to change hotel due to aforementioned Chinese New Year business and we also looked around a local stone carving workshop. Local artisans in Siem Reap are prospering due to the number of tourists.

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