Day-3 Pagoda, Palace and Floating village at Tonle Sap Lake,

Day 3 of our adventure took us off the beaten pathand into the heart of local life. We set out early in the morning with a plan to explore the villages nestled along the banks of a river/lake .As we wandered through these quiet riverside communities, we were welcomed with warm smiles and genuine hospitality. The rhythm of life here felt slower, more peaceful, and deeply connected to nature. One of the highlights of the day was visiting a bustling local market.  

What made the experience truly memorable, though, were the people. Everyone we met greeted us with kindness, and one curious child stood out, playfully trying to catch our attention . 

Nearby, a serene monastery stood with quiet grace a place of reflection and simplicity. We spent some time walking its grounds, soaking in the calm atmosphere and appreciating the beauty of its architecture.

Post lunch, we visited Siem Reap Palace and another Pagoda near-by.

Ankor Day-2 Bayon and Ta Prohm

From Ankor Wat, my guide took me to Bayon temple. The faces on this temple were distinct. I was told that the carvings were changed multiple times, with changing rulers, who were either Buddhist or Hindus.

From there, we went to Ta Prohm temple. This temple is more popular because of the film Tomb raider. The restoration work here is done with the help of our own Archeological Survey of India. 

 

It took a bit long to take below picture because almost every tourist wanted a pic from this spot. My guide insisted that I should also get one clicked from there, 😁

Great hornbill (മലമുഴക്കി വേഴാമ്പൽ)

 It was a great opportunity to take pictures of this magnificent bird, thanks to my friend and wildlife photographer Baiju Nemmara. He was well aware of the location and the time male bird takes between visits to the nesting tree. 

Before laying eggs, female bird closes the nesting hole, except for a small opening through which male bird can pass on food to her and the chicks, once it is hatched. A portion of its beak (in yellow) can be seen just above the leaves

With the luck on my side that day, male bird came to the nest within 15 minutes of us reaching there. Its wingbeat was pretty loud, as if making an announcement. This time, he caught a snake and fed it to the female bird inside. I was told that it is very rare that we see hornbill catching a snake.

Once the food was delivered, he sat there for few more minutes, maybe to ensure that everything is under control. After checking the surroundings, he flew off for his next mission. Unfortunately, I was not able to get a good picture of him flying back.

Ankor Temples Day-2-Ankor Wat

 The was the main attraction of my visit to Siam Reap was to visit Ankor Wat temple.

The day started at 4.30am, with a short trip from the hotel to the temple site. I had to reach there pretty early to get a good spot to that get sunrise picture of the temple, reflecting on a small pool.  My guide suggested that I wait outside the temple, neat the lake that surrounds the temple, so that I would be less crowded and get better reflection than on a small pool inside. However, nature had other plans for me. It was very windy and with water not still, reflection was not clear and the idea of sitting outside turned out to be a disaster. However, I got some sunrise pictures with the temple in silhouette.

Though Ankor Wat was built as a Vishnu temple, later it was converted to a Buddha temple. At the entrance, there is a big Vishnu statue, probably removed from the main area. 

Once inside, the view was stunning. With sun on the foreground of the temple and carvings on the wall, it was a great feeling altogether. 

This is the small pool where everyone get's their sunrise picture with reflection of the temple.

We walked towards east to get in to the main building. 

After getting inside from east gate, there is one of the biggest carving of "Palazahi Madanam"

Another gate into the temple,  there are different levels of the building , all of which had varying degree of degradation, before restoration work started. 

It was a steep climb to reach the top levels of the temple, where only king and other nobles were  allowed. 

This group of monks were on a visit to the temple.

Took my final round of pictures on my way back.