Cambodia Day 2 - Women's Citadel, Butterflies and Ant-Holes

2 April 2017

By the time day two of cycling rolled around, I was ecstatic.  Heng was fantastic company and I had made peace with the missing gears on my bike.  We started early and hit a lot of dirt track.  We saw a lot of fields and daily life.

I adore water buffalo.

What do I adore more than water buffalo?  Baby water buffalo.

Baong making a u-turn.

This man was holding sticks between his toes and as he climbed and descended, he would force them into holes in the poles to create a step up or down.  He whistled as he went about his work.  This is the lineman of Cambodia.

Heng and I taking a break and watching the Chinese burial ritual going on across the lake. 

Our first temple visit was to Banteay Srei, or Women's Citadel.  It was the most ornate and well preserved of the temples we would visit.  

Half monkey/half man guardians.  Pretty intimidating!

After a brief and bizarre meeting with a few very overheated American women from Arkansas (what are the chances?) we continued on to our next destination, lunch rumblings were beginning.  We pulled into a little parking area full of hut store fronts.  Our lunch was tasty, but the chemical warfare of spices that rolled through the air prior to being served even had the Cambodians coughing and sputtering.  

The next potion of our adventure was Kbal Spean, a archaeological site and park.  From insects to waterfalls, I could have spent the whole day here.  We actually spent so much time hiking and exploring that we had to take the tuk tuk back home!

Vine that looked like a snake.  In southeast Asia, I assume things are snakes until proven otherwise.

This is an ant nest built out of leaves high in a tree.  On the way in, we marveled at it and on the way out, we saw it laying in the middle of the trail.  What we didn't see were all the tiny ants in full battle mode around their damaged home.  As stood to look at it, the biting began around our cycling shoes and progressed upwards.  Ants were crushed, but not before bites were delivered - Ant-holes....

This stunning waterfall hid the carvings in the rocks until closer inspection.  This lit up the child explorer part of my brain and I was off into the jungle looking for more.  I found butterflies at every turn and plants I'd never even imagined.

Wild Pineapple

I loved the opportunities for discovery.  There was no guide pointing out every feature.  You had to be willing to keep your eyes open and your ears attuned to all the new sounds.

I thought this guy was a snake until I saw his small front legs.  His body was at least a foot long and very wide and flat.

This waterfall is supposed to have some good karma.  We washed dirt covered faces and hands off and I took a moment to be thankful.

We were photographing the butterfly on Heng's sunglasses, but ended up capturing a great photo of his smile as well.

I could have explored that jungle for days.  I love the exotic sounds, smells and life that seems to be endless in the dark canopy.  I will always remember an afternoon where I was courted by all varieties of butterflies and felt the childlike freedom of adventure.