27 July 2015

Tuk tuk travels

Having spent a slothful afternoon the previous day, with our final morning free we contemplated again just hiding in our airconditioned room. However, we had learned of another jungle temple and decided to venture out, this time on our own rather than in the comforts of our tour bus. We go in search of a tuk tuk, "that one with the nice elephant fabric" rather than "the one with the reliable and fast motorcycle". The latter probably the more sensible choice. For those wondering why, it ended up being ~40mins each way, leaving us about an hour to explore our destination. Even though we knew before we arrived that the area was large, we hadn't thought through how traffic might be channeled through and around it.

In our tuk tuk (with the nice elephant fabric) we head past Angkor Wat, then through the walls of Angkor Thom with its frolicking monkeys and magnificent roaming elephants. Surely there can't be many more evocative entrées?
We arrive at our destination, Preah Khan. Ta Prohm had been built by the king in honour of his mother, this one was for his father.  It was quite different from the other temples with its long corridors and two storey Greek style library. Like Ta Prohm, it was a fusion of jungle with ancient temple. This one was certainly one of our favourites.

The tuk tuk driver, having waited patiently in his hammock, returned us to Siem Reap in time to head to the airport. Vietnam here we come.

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