Today we started by journeying to Bakong in a hired motorcycle pulled cart. We then doubled back and picked up Preah Ko. At Preah Ko we witnessed restoration that was a bit aggressive for my tastes. They were rebricking and repillaring so as to make a 9th century building look like new. We wrapped up the Roluos Group with Lolei. It was fun because of its ruinous state. The piles of bricks at its base were something we had not seen. (We had seen piles of the bigger laterite blocks.)
On the way from Lolei to Kbal Spean, our driver stopped to fix a squeaky axle, then was pulled over for a traffic violation. Kbal Spean was a good break from ruins. We enjoyed a good wooded hike with the added bonuses of waterfalls and stream-bed carvings.
On the way back to Siem Reap we stopped at Banteay Srei. The intricacy and density of the carvings was stunning. The size of it was also striking; compared to many of the other temples we had visited, Banteay Srei felt like a dollhouse miniature. While we were there I bumped into three ladies from Thailand. I enjoyed our brief chat.
Upon our return to Siem Reap. Mark and I took our bikes out to try to find a bicycle mechanic. We found several. They all listened to the clicking of my chain against my rear derailleur and said there was nothing wrong.
Mark and I returned to our hotel and tried to clean out the rear derailleur with diesel. Buying the diesel was a fun adventure. We had trouble communicating our desire for a container so we ended up finding a used water bottle and using it. I don’t think the fuel station had ever sold a quarter liter of diesel before. We’ll see if my bike is any better tomorrow.
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