Theiving Monkeys

 I am not a huge fan of monkeys, thieving little primates that they are.

The Husband however is enthralled by them so when around monkeys I usually snap a few pictures of them to pay him back for the hours he hangs around waiting for me to take pictures of things that he has no interest in.  Above Batu in Indonesia he was as happy as could be with frolicking monkeys stealing food from tourist:

This little monkey liked melon,

  This little monkey liked rice

 

This little monkey liked sweetcorn

 ... and this little monkey masterminded the entire raid.

Vinpearl "attractions"

I was in Nha Trang this week and was offered chances to see elephant and bear shows, ride ostriches or watch dog and monkey shows. Vietnam still likes performing animal shows. I've had conversations with people about their cruelty or being inappropriate ways to treat animals but no-one so far has responded wth anything other than some comment about the animals being cute or clever.



I suspect Vietnam hasn't had the luxury of being able to get all worked up about animal dignity having some bigger concerns to get sorted out.



The pictures here feature animals used in a very popular show at Vinpearl Land, Nha Trang. I find them heartbreaking and avoid them. I also support Wildlife at Risk who are doing a good job in education and practical rescue and protection programmes.

Cambodia, Angkor Wat, Siem Reap

Cambodia was a very interesting destination, we flew in from Singapore cheaper than we could do from HCMC, Vietnam Airlines has the monopoly on flights from here and charge accordingly.

Unfortunately I was a bit unwell during this visit and it showed in the number and quality of photographs I took. There were so many other things I wish I'd captured but I suspect I'll be back at some time.

Meanwhile, some pictures of Angkor Wat which was the reason for going to Siem Reap:

We hired a Tuk Tuk for one and a half days and headed out at about 4pm to get our tickets for the following day, this also gives you access to the temple complex in the evening so the plan was to head to a high spot and see the sunset.



And see the sunset we did along with half the visitor population of Siem Reap it seemed. The steps up are very steep and narrow, I enjoyed watching people negotiate them in heels.

We headed out again early the next morning and started at the Angkor Wat complex. It was fairly quiet at this time of day.



People were going about their everyday business and it felt quite tranquil



Also the resident primates were about.



Although I caught this one in repose they're packed full of attitude and will steal anything they can pry from your grip.

From there we went to Bayon:



The entrance causeway is flanked by these imposing demons, the other side has more benign figures of Buddha but I liked these, they reminded me of a New Zealand tug of war team.

The Bayon complex was my favourite, I enjoyed the massive structures and giant smiles. If I were to go again I'd go first thing in the morning or last thing at night as the light changes.



From here we went to Ta Prohm, the temple complex taken over by the jungle, it was awe inspiring and nicely shaded in the heat of the day.



As always there are more pictures on the flickr account if you're not satiated yet but fewer than normal as my lack of photographic skills were horribly exposed on this visit.

It's very busy, there are touts and hawkers everywhere, it's hell on the knees climbing the steep steps but despite all this if you're in this part of the world it would be a sin to miss out on it.