Sometimes we make the decisions and sometimes the decisions are made for us. Such as this morning, when we left our room at the guesthouse, intending to hop on the bikes, get some brekkie and then cycle out to Sambor Prei Kuk, only to find that Nicky's front tyre was flat as a pancake. In the town last night we had been approached by a tuk tuk driver offering to take us to the temple so, over breakfast, we discussed finding a driver and then repairing the bike in the afternoon. Nicky headed into the town centre to find a driver while Paul went back to inspect the wheel and ten minutes later, we were on our way out of town in the back of a tuk tuk.
(Mr Sinan, the Adventure Driver)
Sambor Prei Kuk is a religious site, located in an area that was once known as Isanapura. Our driver, Mr Sinan, took us along winding country roads, through some lovely picturesque villages and when we arrived at the site, he kindly drew us a map in the sand, explaining the best way to navigate the area.
(One of many colourful homes we passed on the way to Sambor Prei Kuk)
(Some elderly village women)
(Traffic along the way)
The site consists of a number of crumbling temples, in various states of disrepair. Some are held together by large trees, while others are held together with wire and wooden beams to prevent them from falling down. It is possible to step inside a couple and as today is a public holiday, we saw a few Cambodians entering the temples to make offerings.
(A temple enveloped by a tree)
As soon as we arrived at the site and stepped out of the tuk tuk, a group of young girls approached us asking us to buy scarves from them. In unison they would say "please madame, one scarf, one dollar". Nicky had already been approached by a couple of young girls at the entrance from whom she bought a scarf so we said no to these girls but they decided to walk with us anyway. One of the little girls had particularly good English and told us the names of each temple as we walked around and any other little bits of knowledge she had stored up. As we made our way through the wooded area, she would say "watch the root, watch the rock, mind your step beautiful madame, mr handsome". Oh, I bet she says that to all the tourists.
(The little girls selling scarves to tourists. The little one in orange was six and spoke very good English)
(A family makes an offering inside the Lion Temple)
(The Lion Temple)
There was an event of sorts happening outside one of the temples. A large crowd of Cambodian people were gathered and music was being played by a small band of musicians. As we later found out from Mr Sinan, people were invoking jungle spirits and were allowing the spirits to take over their bodies in the hope that they would be able to see their future. People were dancing to the music, some quite wildly and one woman who had been dancing with real abandon suddenly collapsed to the ground before resuming her movements on the floor a few minutes later.
(Looking upwards inside a temple)
(Is the tree supporting this old temple or is the temple supporting the tree?)
Before heading back to Kompong Thom, we sat in the shade for a while chatting with Mr Sinan who told us a bit about what life is like for him, his family and friends in Cambodia. He also recounted to us the story of Bob, his most awful customer yet. Suffice to say we hope not to meet anyone like Bob on our travels.
(Enjoying the hammocks and coconuts at Sambor Prei Kuk)
(A woman washes her clothes in a well outside her home)
(A lot of people travelled through the villages by bicycle)
(Many of the homes that we passed had hammocks strung around outside)
We arrived back in Kompong Thom by early afternoon. The rest of our day was spent reading and relaxing, with a bit of tyre repair in between. Tomorrow we will be heading to a town called Stoung and then on to Siem Reap the following day.
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