I saw one of them and stopped to speak, Then I was surrounded. Antonio had gone ahead but could see what was happening from where he was. Nevertheless, there was nothing he could do to help.

We rode through the Angkor area yesterday from city to city and covered a lot of the countryside, also . It was a before-daylight to after-dark ride yesterday.

Today, Antonio and I left the guesthouse around 9 a.m. We plan to finish up the tour of Angkor today by watching the sunset at one of the Wats. We will ride past Angkor Wat and pick up the route where we left off yesterday.

We visit a number of major city ruins, plus a few minor ones today. Each is so unique that is is difficult to pass one up that we see on our map. At one Wat, we had to leave the bikes and hike up the mountain. I really enjoyed this one. The hike and the views were great.

At one small Wat ruin I had a photo taken about half-way up the steep stairs. Antonio got one of me as I climbed the rest of the way on all fours up the stairs. Then, finally, he photoed one of me in the doorway at the entrance. I did this for you to see better how large these things are.

One of the favorite city ruins in the Angkor area is Angkor Thom . It is about 1 1/2 miles north of Angkor Wat and was the latest and greatest capitol built during the Angkorian era. It was more extravagant than any western city at the time. It was built around two existing Wat's in the late 12th and early 13th centuries.

There are 5 gates in the wall surrounding the city. Four of the gates lead into the city common and the 5th gate, The Gate of Victory, is set in the east wall and leads directly to the Royal Palace compound. Each of the gates are crowned with 4 giant faces, each facing a point of the compass. There is an image of the HIndu god Indra riding a three-headed elephant flanking the giant faces.

Each gate is approached by a stone causeway and crosses the moat surrounding the city. The causeway leading to the south gate is lined by the naga (serpent/dragon mythical creature) I have mentioned before. On one side of the causeway there are 54 guardian dieties called devas. They pull the head of the mythical naga . On the other side of the causeway are 54 images of demon gods called asuras, that push the tail of the serpent.

There were a number of ruins we visited today, and all so different. At one smaller site, we had to walk a long wooden bridge across a swamp. It was a scenic walk and along the way a boy wanted to sell us a handmade mouth harp. It the type you put in your mouth and hit a flexible piece with the other hand to make it play. I had a metal one years ago.

There are both kids and adults everywhere you go trying to sell you something. I can't buy much because I have no way to carry it, since I don't travel with luggage. But, this was small, so I gave the kid $1. He was so happy to make the sale. As I stuffed it in my daybag, he demonstrated how I could play it. I didn't tell him I already knew how and just let him show me and thanked him as I left.

A few steps away another, smaller boy, came running up with what he wanted to sell . It was something in a tube. Too big for me to carry around, so I didn't buy from him. They were the only two sellers (except food and drink sellers) at that small sight, and now I wish I had just given him 50 cents anyway for a tip.

We biked the rest of the day following our map of the Angkor area. When exiting one of the ruins, some people, adults and kids were all selling their souvenirs. One girl had some magnets, so I thought I needed at least something form this amazing adventure. So, I paid $1 for 3 magnets. They would be small and easy to carry.

The other sellers (ages about 10 to 17) saw I had made a purchase and, as I turned to leave, I was swarmed with a dozen other sellers, wanting me to buy from them, too. Everything from silk scarfs to women's hats to postcards and other things I didn't even dare to look to see what they had. They surrounded me as I tried to walk away. The foreigner had money and would buy things and they weren't going to let the chance pass them by . I pushed through the group repeating "I don't need, I don't need" as they walked with me, holding up their goods in my face, surrounding me. I could barely walk as they crowded in. It reminded me of news reporters crowding a person that has just made a big splash in the news, to make a comment.

I finally got a chance to break through their fortress surrounding me and started a fast walk. They followed behind yelling, "Mister, buy (whatever it was they had)".I just walked fast enough to put some space between us.

Antonio watched from afar. He saw the whole thing and thought it was hilarious. He wanted to see the magnets I bought. But I said, "No way, let's just get out of here". It was my first near-mugging in my journey.

We rode away on our bikes, eager to make it to the spot where we wanted to watch the sunset. We watched the sunrise at Angkor Wat and watching the sunset there is spectacular also . But, we don't have time to get there before sunset. We will pass by there on our way home, but not in time to watch the sun go down. There is another popular choice of Wat to watch the sunset from, and we intend to make it to that one.

We had time to tour the Wat before making our way to the top to watch, along with many others, the sunset over Angkor. The temple was Phnom Bakheng. The foundation of this temple was carved out of the existing rock, unlike most of the other Wats that were built on rock fill. The Wat sits on a mountain top and is a favorite for watching the setting sun over the Angkor Empire. It was a beautiful sight to see from the top of this Temple and we are glad we didn't miss seeing it. But, now, there is a long ride to get back to Siem Reap.

The ride takes us a few hours into the night. But, before dark, we pass the spot where we saw all the wild monkeys yesterday. They are out again, and we stop again.

Night riding on a bicycle has become a favorite for me. The ride back into town takes us down long highways. There are many bicycles on the road. Most are locals going somewhere. Every quarter of a mile there are motorcycle police set up. They are not doing radar or anything, just watching. After yesterday, I am not sure I like seeing so many of them.

It's been a long day on the bikes and as we turn the bikes in for the day, the guy that rented the bikes just shakes his head. Two days in a row we return after dark and he is impressed. (Antonio e-mailed me a few weeks later after we had gone our separate ways and said he had not found anyone else that would bike with him like we did, I said the same with me).