Beng Melea, a temple around 70 kilometres from Siem Reap, was used as the set for Tombraider. I've never seen it or any of the Lara Croft films but we still wanted to visit it. It took around an hour and a half in the tuk tuk to reach the temple but it was worth it. We'd filled up on bread and jam that we bought at the shop (saving monies) so we were full of energy when we reached our destination. First glimpse was pretty impressive. It was way more wild than Ta Som that we saw yesterday. It's like it had been left to naturally ruin so trees were growing out of most walls, stones were strewn everywhere, making the whole effect all the more special. We started to climb some wooden steps that had been added there so visitors could view the whole temple and of course I made a fool of myself by falling up the stairs. Nicely grazed by shin so had a little sit for a second (I didn't cry) but just as I got up a couple of ladies told a couple to follow them across the ruin, climbing over the loose stones. We followed, me hobbling slightly. We'd somehow managed to get ourselves a private guide who took us inside the temple, meaning we could view everything rather than a small path that's marked out. It was fantastic. We only realised at the end of the tour that we had to pay the guide $5 but she did take Matt's phone and get some incredible pictures of the temple and the both of us (they will be uploaded soon). I can't decide whether I like Beng Melea or Bayon more.
It felt a little quicker on the way back. We stopped at the side of the road to get a stick of bamboo that had rice and black beans in it. I wasn't a huge fan as it didn't taste of much and the bamboo was hard to peel off but it was an interesting way of eating something.
We headed for the Roluos group next which used to be the original Angkor, stopping at a smaller temple first and then moving on to Bakong, the largest in this group. Bakong was quite nice but I preferred the smaller one. By this point we were all pretty hungry (even Wan who hadn't had breakfast) so we ended up back at the same place as yesterday. I had a sandwich with beef in it which cost me $5. The sandwich was a good size and was tasty but I still think it was pricey.
To make the most of the money we'd spent on the tuk tuk for the day, Wan took us back to Angkor Thom (where Bayon is) so we could check out the rest of the site. We slowly walked along the elephant terraces and through a bit of wood to another small temple. I have no idea what this one was called but it had a lovely stone raised walkway leading to it. I had stupidly worn a top which didn't completely cover my shoulders (all my other tops smelt and needed washing) so I had to wear my raincoat. Not often does your raincoat get wet on the inside rather than the outside. So much sweat.
We returned back for about half 3 so I could FaceTime my family and say happy Father's Day to my Papa. Made me realise how much I miss them all. We had a bit of planning to do regarding Laos (our next stop) so we were kept busy until 6 when we headed into town for tea. I chose a Khmer curry which was lovely with a coconut flavour and potato and other vegetables as well as beef. Matt has had quite a few different curries already in Cambodia and assures me they all taste the same but I still liked it.
Back at the hostel I tried to haggle with the hostel people to do our washing for cheaper but they wouldn't so I went round the corner to do it. It isn't my favourite hostel. The showers aren't the nicest and I've been bitten a million times. We've bought more bug spray for extra protection though. Silly Mosquitos.
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