The grasping hand is forever empty, for it to be full, the hand must be a giving one...

God! I love the smell of DEET in the morning!

Up at 0700 local time and off for a walk out of the city on the Airport Road. The weather, as yesterday was overcast and humid, so I was keen to get all my walking done before noon. The streets are very busy today as it is the third day, or Tanai Lieang Saka,  of celebrations for the Khmer New Year. The locals visit the temples, to make offerings of prayer, and money. In the temple grounds, the Monks erect a huge dome of sand, surrounded by four smaller hillocks. The central Hill represents Culamuni Cetiya, The stupa, a similar mound at Tavatimsa, where the Buddha's hair is buried, along with his diadem (a type of crown). The four smaller surrounding hills of sand represent Sariputta, Moggallana, Ananda and Maha Kassapa, the Buddha's favourite disciples.

These hillocks are adorned with ribbons, and burning incense sticks, filling the hot air all around with the smell of Jasmine.

One of the temples I visited had a disturbing collection of skulls and bones, collected from surrounding fields, of those executed by the Khmer Rouge...