An interesting week

It started off with the arrival of a new volunteer from Holland who is here for two weeks.  Paul is working in my school in the mornings and is out at a floating school with teenagers in the afternoon.  He has been taking my absolute learners so I could move the more advanced children forward.  So this week we have been playing Junior Scrabble - I think the group really enjoyed winning tokens for each word completed.  One of the girls was interested in our Royal Family (we had been doing c and kicking k for King) and I managed to find a Hello magazine in the expat supermarket and of course it was full of pictures so that led to some interesting discussions.  We also did Jelly on the Plate with actions which all the children loved.  Tomorrow I'll do a test which all the children love especially if they get a star for their books.  As you can see I'm having a ball!

Bayon - Buddhist temple at Angkor Thom

We have numerous holidays during October and surprise we had a day off on Wed.  Paul who is young and fit went cycling while I took a tuk tuk out to Angkor Thom again as, because it is huge, there was plenty more to see.  I started at the South Gate to see the statues of the gods and demons in a tug of war called Churning of the Ocean of Milk.  This is part of Hindu mythology.

Demons pulling the snake in the tug of war to Churn the Ocean of Milk

 Part of the bas relief showing the sea animals affected by the Churning (within the Bayon)

This legend  also appeared on the carvings at Angkor Wat.  Then I went back to The Bayon which was full of very small monks on a class trip.  I then waked to see the Baphuon which has only been reopened for a year or so.  Archaeologists where restoring it before they had to leave because of the 1970s war.  Then all the plans were lost so when work recommenced in the 1990s it was like putting a giant jigsaw back together.
Angkor Thom was a city of 100,000 people in the 10th century when London had only 50,000.  All the people in 54 regions came here to worship.  After the Baphuon you walk through a wall and past a lake called Sras Srei which is overgrown with lotus and very delicate blue water lilies to go to a temple with very steep sides called Phimeanakas. Quite a stiff climb at 86 degrees in the midday sun, but yes, I did it.

Steps up to the Phimeanakas 

 At this point there are very few tourists and you are walking through cool green forests with just the birds singing and the occasional very very small toad or line of ants for company.

Cool water in the jungle

Another walk brings you to Preah Palilay where I met a very nice little boy who asked me to sponsor his teacher's wages - this I did and he then asked "and a tip for me Madame?"  How could I resist?

Preah Palilay 

He then insisted on showing me his school - made of local wood with a thatched roof and raised about 15 feet off the ground out of the flood level.  He pointed out all the computers on the desks around the walls - quite open and apparently unguarded.  He was very proud of these and said all the children learnt English and computing.