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.