[Siem Reap, Cambodia] After yesterday’s mission we were feeling a little ‘Wat Fatigue’ so today we decided to pick a few of the remaining highlights instead of trying to cram in every Angkor site. First up Beng Mealea which is a 70km tak-tak ride out of town. Our chariot unfortunately got a flat tire, turning the 1.5 hour ride into 2 hours. It’s amazing that just about anywhere along the main road, even an hour out of town, you are not far from someone with a compressor, tires and tools – no need to carry a spare here.

Beng Mealea was amazing. It is a large complex and again has not been heavily restored – in fact the central tower is just a huge pile of moss covered rubble after being dynamited by looters. Elevated wooden walkways give a different view and once again we were stunned by the trees that have become part of the place. This is real Indiana Jones / Tomb Raider territory – we couldn’t resist attempting to pose on hanging vines and collapsed columns. It was reasonably empty and being a weekend there were a lot of local kids around. When not annoying us by trying to be ‘guides’ they were just playing on the ruins – running across dodgy looking arches, jumping gaps, just having a ball. To be a kid with this jungle gym in your back yard – wow. V and I decided to go adventuring like the kids. We scrambled over the rubble, climbed walls and worked up a sweat before returning from above to the walkways and surprised tourists. It was just too much fun and a little naughty… when in Rome 🙂

Not far outside Siem Reap is a cluster of small temples known as the Roulos group. We visited three in the area (Lolei, Preah Ko and Bakong). Honestly only Bakong was memorable. A huge 5 level pyramid shaped temple with intricate elephant statues. By the time we had climbed up and back down the temple it was getting very hot and we were feeling exhausted so it was back to our air-conditioned hotel room for the rest of the afternoon. Our Tak-Tak driver was decent. If anyone wants a pleasant driver we can recommend Arony (Aaron) cell: 012534470.

Tomorrow we get to sleep in and I’m not getting out of bed until 11 except to pee!

[Pictures: Sim, AKA Indy – I hope this doesn’t snap. V, AKA Lady Croft – this moss is slippery!]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi