Today was a temple tour day. We left at about noon and picked up a fairly ok looking tuk tuk driver to take us to Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm and Angkor Thom (Bayon) for 11$. First Angkor Wat.
--- Which was...great. Massive, but sometimes a little too repetitive in its massiveness. The mother of all temples looked great, though. Asked good health and fortune from Vishnu at te beginning. Got the "classic" picture of Angkor Wat, where it reflectes from the pond in front of it, too. ;)
The annoying part was all those vendor sellers at yhe edge of the pond, who all will attack to you like hyenas when you walk next to them, tryng to sell you all from kramas to books to anything. We were there around 1 pm to 3 pm, which was actually very quiet time(!), 'cause i think most of the large group tours were away for their lunches. It was the hottest hours of the day, but you'll cope, 'cause you can explore the places almost on your own, we encountered only a handful of people around inside the temple when we where there. Instead of those ten and ten of people in one group and you can't see a thing when everyone's on the way.. :P When we left about at three o'clock, the large groups seemingly started to gather back. --> Time to flee to the shadows of Ta Prohm!

Ta Prohm felt so much tinier (of course), but also much more intimate and so blessfully shadowed. The trees everywhere, who were slowly taking over the stones were really beautiful. Even though these ones here are taking care of, so they're not in thw wholly natural condition. In Koh Ker, where we're going on Tuesday is on the contrary almost in its natural state being, "real" jungle temple. Nevertheless Ta Prohm was really nice, and over there wasn't so much people then, which was very good thing. We got to wonder around where we wanted to and take pictures in peace, almost without the apes (read: tourists) seeing in our pics. Got many awesome pictures!! We spent about 1,5hrs there and then went to Angkor Thom (Bayon), also known as the "Temple of Faces".

Bayon was the smallest of them. The temple where the kings' faces look in every four directions everywhere.
We came in from the north entrance (I think), and agreeg to mert our tuktuk driver, San, at the opposite side. So, we started to wander through the temples narrow corridors ans stairs to find our way to te opposite side. That was fun!
In one of the corridors was (again) an old man who gave us insence sticks and asked us to bow 3 times to a statue in the corner (for good luck), and he said some prayer during it for us. And put a straw wrist band to our left wrists. So we gave him 1000 riels (it's not the how much you give, it is the thought that counts).
The corridors were mostly very dark, and that was much of the fun, too. And that, that there wasn't clearly marked ways of where to go to the top of the temple and though to the other side. There were only signs like "Do not use these stairs". ;D
Well, we found the way anyway. It was nice at the top, 'cause the suns light was already fading a bit, so nice shadows were already cast to the faces and we got nice pictures fro there. :)
It took the shortest time to explore this temple through. And when we got to tje other side, our tuk driver wasn't there. :P We figured he was somewhere at his businesses, as we were so early looked the temple through. So we decided to walk around the temple, if he'd be at some other entry, if we had somehow misunderstood the meeting point..
He wasn't at any(!) of the passages! We sweared a bit and almost got ourselves another driver to take us to see the sunset to the popular "mountain", where you could see Angkor Wat, when I spotted him pretty far away at an other entrance where we were and where we had alteady walked past, not seeing him. He luckily also spotted us, came to pick us up and off we went to the "mountain", or hill to be more specific. And.....let's just say that it really wasn't worth it - the temple, which top of you should have had to get, closed 5.30, and if you'd really wanted to go there, I guess you'd have had to be there alteady a lot earlier (think there's a limit how many people they took there). But - you could see the Angkor Wat from many other places from the hill as well. Eh...if you can spot it in the distance, that is..! :P
It was soooo tiny in the horizont, in the middle of the forest, that you had to actually SEARCH for it quite hard! Not to mention, if you'd want to have pictures from it, you'd have to have a 50cm objective in a good professional camera with a lot of quality zoom... :D
So I think I don't even have to tell you, that we did not stay there to wait for still at least yet an hour or more for the sun to set. If of the Angkor Wat had been at least that much bigger view that you could have watched it without losing the sight of it all the time and then having to search for it eith your gaze again, it'd been worth it. But unfortunately not like this. So we left to have smth to eat back to town.
Our tuk driver traditionally tried to get more rides with us for tomorrow, but since we don't have that specific plans, we don't arrange anything. It'd also be a bit anxcious and irritatating, at least for my opinion.
We went to eat at a localish eatery at the one edge of Psar Chaa. Had 3 courses and beers and smoothies for ~10$ altogether, and the dishes were ok. Fried chicken with basil was the best, actually a good dish. :)
Then we went to bed.