The american tomato visits the Temples of Angkor

(Crowds wait to climb the stairs to the top of Angkor Wat temple)

(The guardian of the Prasat Olok)

(The Bayon)

Unfortunately, my pictures give no justice to the spectacular views of the temples of Angkor. These Cambodian structures are said to create the largest collection of religious buildings in the world. With a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu themes, the temples create a mysterious world of wonder for this westerner.

I arrived in Siem Reap (the town just outside Angkor) three days ago to attend a conference that I was invited to by a professor from the University of Wisconsin. The conference was addressing issues concerning Cambodia since 1975 and was a great chance to meet fellow researchers and learn an overwhelming amount of information concerning land rights, technology, art, and gender studies. With the end of the conference, I will have the chance to spend a week bicycling to the various temples that form Angkor. With one day down I have already achieved fame amongst the locals due the bright red hue that my Casper skin has taken on. I am now known throughout the region as the "American Tomato." I would like to note that I did apply sunscreen at least four times, wore a hat and long-sleeved shirt, but still have managed to set myself up for a bleak future filled with skin cancer! Yes, I could have taken a tuk-tuk, but since I am planning on riding in Ragbrai, I thought it might be best to get some riding in and save some money.

The Angkor "park" is an interesting place. A “national highway” surrounds it and although you need to buy a ticket to get in ($60 dollars for a week), there are actually no walls or gates. That means that there are several communities that live within the limits or just outside most of the temples. It also means that the members of these communities are always waiting to sell you scarves, books, food, drinks, or beg for money. This unfortunately provides for an experience that can be rather stressful, but with the ability to negotiate and to purchase at least one minor thing.... the crowds tend to retreat. I have also found that even though they speak perfect English (Chinese, Korean, French, Japanese), that if you attempt to bargain in Khmer they will give you a much better deal.

Tomorrow I plan to take a moto bike with a boy named Mom (long O) and head to Banteay Srei. Mom promises that he will drive slowly and so I hope to arrive back in one piece. I send my love. Square

P.S. Today I also decided to wander down some back roads and passed a man wearing a towel and holding a naked baby while biking down the street. I thought that if his name had been Britney he probably would have been on the cover of every American tabloid.