{"id":2690,"date":"2012-04-13T15:47:28","date_gmt":"2012-04-13T08:47:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/durianapocalypse.net\/travel\/?p=2690"},"modified":"2012-04-13T16:05:36","modified_gmt":"2012-04-13T09:05:36","slug":"farewell-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durianapocalypse.net\/travel\/2012\/04\/13\/farewell-tour\/","title":{"rendered":"Farewell Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, Thursday, my last day in the Park. A few days before that, though, a kind of fun thing happened, so allow me to now relate to you the manner of its unfolding.<\/p>\n

Heading into the store for some watermelonism, noticed this one very friendly tuk-tuk driver sitting out there all by his lonesome. The same one I told about before, who\u2019d slapped his palm to his forehead when I\u2019d told him of the ease with which I’m able to polish off a few watermelons in a sitting. (He later executed the manouevre upon learning that I\u2019d bicycled my dimpled ass up to Banteay Srei.)<\/p>\n

He kept always asking if I could spare a watermelon; you know, just horsing around. Then lately he\u2019d been asking whether I could spare a watermelon because his New Year was coming up<\/em>? I told him that on the 13th, I\u2019d get him a watermelon. Probably he figured I was just horsing right back at him; but it was in fact my intent.<\/p>\n

So then I saw him standing there, looking kinda lonely without his usual posse of tuk-tuk driving compatriots, and thought I may as well present to him his New Year\u2019s watermelon a few days early.<\/p>\n

\"tuktukmelon\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Picture doesn\u2019t begin to tell the story of his surprise and elation. His smile was much larger both before and after the photo; and he kept shaking my hand and saying, \u201cGood luck for you,\u201d over and over again. Said he was gonna give the watermelon to his kids. Well\u2026it was more fun that I\u2019ve made it seem. Dude was just so happy to\u2019ve received his New Year\u2019s melon.<\/p>\n

So then, last day in the Park. I went in for a kind of \u201cgreatest hits\u201d review of my fave temples. Thought I\u2019d start with Preah Khan, which is the furthest north, and work my way back down to Angkor. But couldn\u2019t help stealing a shot of the latter looking too right in the morning light.<\/p>\n

\"angkor\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But in case you\u2019d been wondering why I\u2019ve not been photographing the monumental Prasats in the full-on wide view; okay, I’ll explain.<\/p>\n

\"angkorgreen\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That butt-ugly green tarp? Has something to do with restoration work. But it\u2019s utterly impossibly to attain an photographic angle which occludes this damnable tarp. Something of a gyp, really \u2013 kinda like if one is attending the amusement park, but finds the best and most funnest ride is closed for maintenance. That\u2019s the way the cookie crumbles, I suppose.<\/p>\n

I purposed, given that I\u2019d be making return visits to all these temples, to keep the camera in the pocket, and just experience the temples. In point of fact, I did largely succeed in this mission.<\/p>\n

Up at Preah Khan, there was a little ceremony going on at the central shrine \u2013 to do with the New Year, I overheard a guide saying.<\/p>\n

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