The Temple of Boeng Mealea
This was by far my favorite of the temples near Angkor. Little restoration has been done and the jungle has been allowed to do its thing. On entering a young kid asked me if I liked to climb. Like that we were off, climbing over rubble, along walls and roofs. It was so much fun and I couldn't help but think of Indiana Jones and the kid (Short Round). Lost in the fun, I ignored my normal instincts not to encourage children to work for tourist dollars and the fact that we probably weren't allowed to climb all over the temple, but, hey, it was so much fun.
Most Cambodians consider themselves to be Khmers, whose Angkor Empire extended over much of Southeast Asia and reached its zenith between the 10th and 13th centuries. Subsequently, attacks by the Thai and Cham (from present-day Vietnam) weakened the ... ... read more 
