Day by Day Travels

A nice late start this morning allowed us to have a relaxing breakfast and sleep in.  We were supposed to visit some remote fishing village and a remote temple.  We found out that the entry in to the village was $20US per person and was 90 minute drive away.  We might regret it later but we were all pretty exhausted after 2 weeks of so much travel; so we decided to just visit the remote temple. We settled in for the hour or so drive.  Along the way we saw people selling what looked like bamboo on the side of the road.  We asked Da to stop.  It was bamboo- cooked over a fire and inside is sweet coconut, crunchy rice.  A unique and tasty snack for the road.  We arrived a the gate for the temple- paid our fee to enter and parked.  As the temple was in disarray the dress code was not so strict said Da.  But no, as we were walking in we were stopped, as our shoulders and knees were showing.  We had to head to the local stalls to pickup some coverings and then entered via the south entrance. The temple used to be utterly consumed by jungle, but some of the dense foliage has been cut back and cleaned up in recent years. Entering from the south, we wended our way over piles of finely chiselled sandstone blocks, through long, dark chambers and between hanging vines. The central tower has completely collapsed, but hidden away among the rubble and foliage are several impressive carvings, as well as a well-preserved library in the northeastern quadrant. A spectacular sight to behold, Beng Mealea, (which is about 68km northeast of Siem Reap), is one of the most mysterious temples at Angkor, as nature has well and truly run riot. Exploring this titanic of temples, built to the same floor plan as Angkor Wat, seemed like the ultimate Indiana Jones experience. It was built in the  12th century under Suryavarman II. The temple was worth taking the time to explore it thoroughly. We even came across a monk giving blessing in the middle of the temple- with no-one else around him. The large wooden walkway to and around the centre was originally constructed for the filming of Two Brothers(2004), set in 1920s French Indochina and starring two tiger cubs. We spent a great while here and then off to lunch. We stopped at a road restaurant along the way and had a decent lunch.  The girls were done and ready to chill pool side.  Frank and I headed into town and the market for some last minute shopping and then caught a tuktuk (around $3) back to the hotel to relax and pack. We all met up for a light dinner in the hotel restaurant and then walked down the road a few metres to the Angkor Circus.  What luck that our hotel was across from this or we might not have even know it was there.  “Phare is no ordinary circus, but an edgy, alternative, down-to-earth, all-singing-and-dancing Cambodian circus in the tradition of Cirque du Soleil. A contemporary circus without animals, the cast of talented young Cambodian performers are accomplished in acrobatics, contortion, aerial ballet, balancing, tightrope walking, fire dancing, vaulting, juggling, music, dance, drama, mime and comedy. Their show, “Khmer Metal,” about love, life and rock ‘n’ roll, is set over the course of one night in a crazy bar and it’s edge-of-the-seat stuff.”  A wonderful performance that we thoroughly enjoyed and a truly wonderful way to end a great 2 weeks in Asia.

We were in bed and packed fairly early as our day of travel was a long one. Siem Reap back to Saigon, Saigon to Taipei and then the 11.5 hour flight home to Vancouver.  we left Cambodia at 10am local time and arrived back in Vancouver the “same” day but 24 hours later!