Siem Reap, Cambodia.
I arrived in Siem Reap about midday and got a motodup to my guest house. Siem Reap is really busy and there are lots of tourists about. More than I have seen anywhere else in Cambodia, which is understandable, I guess. I find groups of tourists to be immensely amusing.
Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis)
But then again, I am a bird-watching nerd. ha ha. This afternoon I trotted off to the Royal Gardens in Siem Reap city, hoping to see lots of birds. But it was not to be. There is hardly anything in the gardens. I did hear what I thought were Olive-backed Sunbirds along the river.
squirrel
Oh, and I did see a squirred coming down a tree right near me. A bit too close, actually because he did not fit into the frame.
fruit bats
There were some more fruit bats up in the trees. One of the tuk-tuk drivers told me that Khmer people eat them. During the bad years of the war, Khmer people ate whatever they got their hands on – mice, frogs, snakes. And had to eat thin rice soup with lots of water to stretch out the rice supply. A lot of people fled to the country-side and hid in the forests and hills, whilst others fled to Thailand when Vietnam invaded.
Korean tourist
There were quite a few bus-loads of Korean tourists with their tour guides. They would come along, look up at the bats, and then take photos, get back on the bus, and away to the next item on their agendas.
smoking incence
This is some incence burning outside the temple near the garden. There were people with birds in cages outside the temple selling them. I was pretty disgusted. Maybe Buddha needs to come back and throw the money-changers out of the temple.
Siem Reap Bird List
Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis)
Red-collared Dove (Streptopelia tranquebarica)
Common Myna (Acidotheres tristis)
