TEMPLE ADVENTURE

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We wanted to visit some places that were a bit off the usual tourist trail. Our first stop was around 60km from Siem Reap, so rather than take a bouncy tuk tuk we booked a car. Beng Mealea is an early 12th century temple ruin which is quite an adventure to visit. We were able climb through windows, over huge heaps of stones, wander through dark corridors and into tiny rooms. It still has a real lost in the jungle feel to it. Trees and bushes grow inside the ruins and huge tree roots seem to almost engulf entire areas. It was definitely worth travelling the extra miles to see.

Before returning back to Siem Reap visited an 800 year old stone bridge with more than 20 arches. For generations it has been traditional for wedding parties to visit Spean Praptos to have their photos taken. When we visited we were lucky enough to see a bride and groom with all their guests posing for photos, although it didn’t look like they had picked the best day for it. It had been drizzling on and off all day so as they tried to look natural having their photos taken, you could see that they were worried about slipping down the river bank. Also Muddy puddles and white dresses and suits do not mix well. Everyone looked so nice from the front, but as soon as they turned around you could see brown splash marks up their trouser legs.

On the drive back to Siem Reap the sky started to turn a very angry shade of grey. We probably should have been sensible and eaten dinner at our hotel, or at least stopped off to collect an umbrella, but instead we were dropped off at the Khmer Kitchen where we sat under the awning so that we would have a good view of the storm. We ended up with as better view of the storm than we were planning on when the wind got up and blew most of the rain under the awning and into our faces. We were forced to retreat to an inside table and watch the rain from a distance. Once again we had to walk home in the pouring rain and one again we gave the hotel staff another giggle as we squelched through the door.

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