Our last day in Siem Reap

Saturday the 30th our last active day was more temple exploring see much of the Grand Circuit, including the great temple of Preah Khan and the brick sanctuaries of Pre Rup, this vast complex, covering several square kilometers, has carefully engineered canals and reservoirs to control flood waters and survive droughts, was once, the largest city in the world, housing as many as one million inhabitants.

Preah Khan

Banteay Srei is something of an anomaly. It wasn't built by a king, but rather a spiritual teacher, Yajnavaraha, the Brahman of King Jayavarman V, in AD 967. At that time it was called Tribhuvana Mahesvara, and stood in a town called Isvarapura. The name Banteay Srei means the "Citadel of Women", and is one of the first temples to be restored by the French. It is sometimes called the pink temple.

Banteay Srei 

We drive by a number of sites, but our group is very tired and we head back to the hotel.  We catch a late lunch at il Forno tucked away in a charming little alley just a few steps away from the bustling main street, is the perfect place to relax. We have a pizza and take it easy before a great dinner with the people we traveled with the past weeks.

We have our last dinner at Touich Restaurant run by  Sobey, a friend of our guide Peter. The owner was a child soldier in the Cambodian army laying land mines and hoped they wouldn't kill anyone. Years later he was part of the effort to remove the land mines.  He put ribbons on the mines he placed, and upon removing some of the same mines he saw some that didn't blow anyone up.  He studied culinary arts in France and now runs this amazing restaurant with his wife Touich.  What a great finish to a great trip.

The next morning we head home with a rest stop in Hong Kong before the big 14 hour flight home to San Francisco.