Last night

We had planned to have a quiet last evening maybe going out and splurging on a good meal and then going to bed early. We were talking with our landlord, though, and he invited us to go see a ceremony at a temple fifteen miles or so away from the hotel.

At six o'clock we were ready. First, he took us to see a village where every night thousands of herons land in the trees in the village to roost for the night. It is such an attraction they charge a small admission fee to see it. It was fun for a few minutes but then we were ready to leave.

We then joined thousands of others to visit a temple. Laurie had to wear a sarong and kebaya and I wore a sarong, sash, and the little headdress men wear here. We asked why so many people were at the temple and were told it was to give thanks.

The temple grounds were jammed with families and individuals. People were friendly toward us and seemed pleased that we wanted to be there. We didn't see any other tourists. Our landlord has trouble walking very far, so he sat on the edge of a platform where a gamelan orchestra was playing. Laurie stayed with him and I, of course, walked around taking photos.

We didn't want to stay late so we missed seeing the dancing that was to take place later. The decorations were beautiful and the religious objects were fantastic. There were towers of brightly colored figures, like the temple carvings but in color. There is a lion-like figure called a barong that figures prominently here - that is the face over many doors here. There was a big barong at the temple with an elaborate mask and a body of a sort of straw.

All the pictures I have posted so far were taken with my phone and it doesn't do well in a situation like last night, so I don't have any photos to post right now. Also, I took my shorter lens, so the photos of the towers are long shots. I will post to Flickr when I get a chance.

Laurie flew out to Taipei and then on home a few hours ago and I got misty eyed when she walked to the gate. We will be apart for five weeks, which will be by far the longest time we have been away from each other. My flight to Kuala Lumpur leaves in a couple of hours. I will spend the early hours of the 27th in a hotel in the Kuala Lumpur airport and then fly to Siem Reap at six or so in the morning. The hotel rents rooms in six hour blocks of time. Perfect for my needs- I arrive at 12:20 AM and leave at 6:20 AM, so I should be able to get three or four hours of sleep and take a shower before the flight to Cambodia.