Here Are The Celestrial Nymphs .....

.....from the Battle of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk. They were a result of the thousand year battle and today they are considered a Cambodian national treasure. Young girls are tought the intricate movements including the curving backwards of their fingers and balancing on one foot for a slow, graceful dance to traditional music. In the 1920s Noel Coward wrote that few things inspire as a show of these dancers followed by a visit to the Angkor Wat ruins the following day. I traced his footsteps and did the same thing and can report he was right on the money. The music, too, is traditional and very beautiful. Here are a couple of photos

to illustrate:

The next morning we took an amazing drive along a road only recently cleared of landmines to do a tour of Banteay Srey Temple and then an amazing visit to Ta Prohn where the forest is competing with the old temples in a scene straight out of Indiana Jones.