Same, Same but Different.

I know, I know. We said no more temples...but this one is 45 miles outside of town and takes you through beautiful countryside. It is currently the dry season so the rice paddies are dry and brown with the occasional cow or two wandering about. Without the farming to do, locals were resting and visiting with each other; hanging in hammocks in the shade under stilted houses. We stopped in a tiny village to buy a drink and found no english spoken there (vs in and about Siem Reap where nearly everyone speaks english). Mostly, we got away from the masses and bustle and saw some village life, which is what were after.

The Beng Melea temple ruins have been completely overrun by jungle and there have been no efforts to restore it. We were encouraged to scramble over the huge fallen sandstone bricks, explore hidden passages and swing on the vines. It is far enough from the Angkor Wat complex that very few bother to visit it...so we loved it. An unofficial guide adopted us and took us to some neat secret spots. He also pointed out where some scenes from Lara Croft: Tomb Raider were filmed. I guess we will have to watch that movie when we get home. Addi made a prayer for good luck to all of the people she loves at a makeshift Buddha, asked a zillion more questions about religion, and we were on our way.

On the way home we stopped for a roadside snack of sticky rice, coconut and black bean cooked in bamboo and is was delicious! We also stopped at a local market which was tight alleyways, full stalls and pure mayhem.

We spent the afternoon on touristy Pub Street- which is just what it sounds like, and then at the Old Market where Addi and I got a fish pedicure (you stick your feet in a tank full of fish and they nibble your feet! Creepy, right?) And we haggled and bought small trinkets.

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