Cambodia - Kim Wilde

 To continue and finalise the

Southeast Asian Odyssey

from Ho Chi Minh City it is a relatively short flight to the capital of

CAMBODIA

Phnom Penn
and according to taste the best country Flag in the World.
Only time for one full day in the city it was then another distant Long-Fin Boat ride, via

The Killing Fields

to pay our  respects at the monument that is full of human skulls of those who dared to carry a Biro for instance, during the Pol Pot regime 1975 to 1979 - "When will we ever Learn"?

Then onward to the huge lake, that is the 

 Tonle Sap

(from which more fish are caugh annually than any other fresh watercourse in the world) 

and the small town of Seim Reap which is the delightful springboard for the mighty

ANGKOR WAT
1000 building across 400 acres which is only the 'tip of an Iceburg' yet to be discovered.

We had, neither of us, ever seen such magnificence

as every single rock and stone

is adorned by the Mason's / Carver's skills,

not even the riverbeds

which were dry at the time of our visit.

FIG

BANYAN
and

KAPOK TREEs

spread their gigantic roots over stones, probing walls and terraces apart, as their branches and leaves intertwine to form a roof over the structures.

Just one of dozen upon dozen of Deities which soon get you

puffed out under the relentless Sun so maybe time for

a 'couple' of these?

We also made time to savour

a local 'concoction' of a strong spiring enfussed with powdered deer antler

while admiring the
ELEPHANT TERRACE
never go home saying to yourself, "I wish I had"!

Over 2 full days we were certainly going to leave the
Best until Last
as there is nothing we could compare with the rest of the Complex or even across the World to the

MARBLE TABLEAU

that is
The Churning of the Ocean of Milk

Mount Mandarachala was used as the churning rod and Vasuki (King of the Serpents) became the churning rope. The asuras demanded to hold the head of the snake, while the devas, taking advice from Vishnu, agreed to hold its tail.

As a result the demons were poisoned by fumes emitted by the mouth of Vasuki while they churned his body. Despite this, the demigods and demons pulled back and forth on the snake’s body alternately, causing the mountain to rotate, which in turn would churn the ocean.

However, once the asuras carried the mountain and placed it in the ocean, it began to sink. Vishnu in his second incarnation, in the form of a turtle Kurma, came to their rescue and supported the mountain on his back. We had never before, or since, witnessed anything quite like this!!

/the-churning-of-the-ocean-of-milk/

MOSTLY - Western on the Quiet Front

 While still “In the Deep Mid-Winter” and with the absence of Moths yesterday the overnight air temperature continued to hang on doggedly to +9°C. With the year no more than 4 weeks old we have already clocked up a couple of species, so readily accept one per fortnight as a decent average! But hang on, as Thursday morning saw c2 more specimens both clinging to the first egg-tray to be plucked from the trap. No problem with identifying

CHESTNUT

another 'first for the year' while number 2 had us stumped! Most likely a Winter Moth, but not quite right, we eventually succumed to calling in reenforcements with Bomber announcing

EARLY MOTH

a Little Darling we had never even seen before let alone captured on our
Recording Area.

Additionally, there was this unidentified (too much else going on) 

ICHNEUMAN WASP
while a qurtet of

MUTE SWANs
cut across an ever clearing sky, as usual one of the local

KESTRELs
kept an eye on us from above as the

HERRING GULLs
persued their favourite passtime - eating! Otherwise down south, the recent flock of hundreds of

REDWING
and

FIELDFARE
had reduced to double figures only while

DUNNOCK

abound proportionately.

Given that it was unlikely to get any worse, 'it did', as both Ponds were devoid of most Birds but more particularly Waterfowl, the Tufties particularly all gone! Up to then it was only a couple of

GREY SQUIRREL

that kept the Home Fires burning.
The Heath once again was something of a dead loss unless you count the

half dozen

STOCK DOVE
and rather washed out

STONECHAT
which we do in the name of 'padding' and as the mowing continues?
A 'last ditch' was made along the
Sewerage Works Fence
where the old reliables such as

CHIFFCHAFF

appeared to be finding plenty of groceries,

GOLDCREST
(female)

(male already into crest-flashing)
along with

SONG THRUSH

tuning up for the Season to come!