On those backroads, we saw more snakes (dead and alive) than cars on the road. Without exaggeration. Some of the snakes were cobras, which - we were told - the farmers don't kill because they eat the rats in the fields. Great. I actually almost ran over some thin green snake, about 1.5 m long. The guide told me not to worry, as it wasn't deadly, but if I were to get bitten, it'd hurt like hell. The cobras, on the other hand, are deadly for sure.
Many of the villages we went through were still flooded and quite a few of the homes were destroyed or abandoned (we're guessing temporarily, but who knows). There was a ton of debris - in the villages, the roads, the fields. At one point, we hit a dead end on the road and had to turn back because of debris and overall damage.
It was really sad to see the aftermath of the floods. The devastation is at such a large scale, it's hard to imagine how the farmers would move on with life...but inevitably, they will. In fact, we were very much impressed by the smiles on the faces we saw along the road. Children and adults wave, say hello, probably wonder what the hell we're doing there but generally seemed in good spirits.
A Buddha head in the roots of a bodhi tree.
One of the main ruins was closed, as the soil had become too soft from the floods and there's concern that the foundations may sink. At least in this area, the water is gone.
Chinese house in the Summer Palace
Some animal we saw everywhere...a cross between a giant lizard and a crocodile. It's harmless to humans; some eat it and others believe it brings good luck. When you see it in the middle of a swamp, though, it takes a few anxious moments to process what exactly it is before you consider yourself lucky...
Our guide, Ant
Many Buddha statues guarding the wat. Unfortunately, they're all damaged
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