Along with all the amazing buildings, temples and enduring ruins, nature builds more transient structures, creating landscapes and viewscapes that are inspiring. The reclamation of the trees over the buildings in Ta Prohm was a testament to this. The micro detail of a rich fauna and flora we saw was a great contrast to the iconic long-lived buildings. All are transient, though their lifespans differ.
More spectacular than the Phnom Bakheng that Ilona and I visited, was the scene we came across on our descent from the hill. Hundreds if not thousands of large black ants pulled a dead millipede across the path. We watched the spectacle for the ten minutes it took them to cross the path, with renegotiation of direction and strategy of pulling when they encountered a large stone. The ants joined together, and created long ropes with their bodies only. It was amazing.
This photo shows the size, in comparison to a shoe, of the ants. After leaving the path, they made their way up a grassy hill. Amazing coordination in nature…..
As all over the world, spiders are industriously building their sacrificial temples to themselves – a place to net their catch. The early morning starts to visiting the temples gave us a chance to glimpse at the dawning daily activity, in the shafts of first light. 
We have also seen many butterflies flitting about the place. One little blue beauty landed on Ilona’s finger, which had fresh pineapple juice on it! That freaked her out a bit. There are many yellow ones all over the place. Margaret, can you identify these two?
Lotuses are revered in this part of South East Asia, and many grow in the moats, but also in ponds throughout the countryside. They are a sign of prosperity.
Other beautiful flowering trees daub colour through the bush.
The sound of frogs characterise Siem Reap, and indeed Cambodia, for me. Their croaking at night time is quite soothing, if not rather exotic. Ilona dared not find out whether this little beauty would turn into a prince with a kiss, but it was definitely a charming placid frog.
Angkor is predominantly jungle, and there is megafauna there as well. Elephants were used in the construction of the temples, now are used to show tourists around. It is impressive to see these gentle giants in the jungle – such amazing creatures.
And of course….the moon…..who is prevalent in our travels. Our last waning moon was beautiful in Angkor. We wind down our travels with November’s new moon, and arrive home to Ireland on the full moon (howl howl!).
Leave a Reply