Our Final temple for the weekend was Beng Mealea. It was suppose to
be Angkor Wat but the king decided he didn't like the location so scrapped the project and built Angkor Wat where it is today. The temple went into disarray so when we got there stones were in piles in front of the temple and throughout the temple. When we first walked up the security guard had us cross a plank over to a doorway that was boarded up, there was just enough room for us to crawl through and we entered a room full of stones piled up to the doorway. This is where the journey began. The security guard took us everywhere through darkened hallways, to other would be rooms, and into the inner yard of the temple. It was amazing to still see the intricate design on all the stones and walls even though work had stopped. It was almost like they carved the stones before placing them.
There was tree roots growing down walls, into walls, and into dead trees. The roots were so strong that you could sit on a majority of them like a swing. The temple had a "swimming" pool that was the length of the temple and at least 6 feet deep. We saw the libraries that were big on the outside small on the inside according to the security guard. The best way to describe this place was a child's dream playground. You can run, jump, climb, and find new hidden areas for year and years to come. The best part about Beng Mealea was that it was untouched. There was hardly any tourists in the temple and they hadn't tried to restore the temple they left it as it was. It was more fun to be able to climb on top of piles of stones, on top of buildings, and walk along ledges than walking around following the crowd looking at the seeing the same thing everyone else sees while visiting a historical site.
I wish we had something like this in the United States but of course if we did people would have to sign waivers because it would take one person falling breaking their ankle and suing for the site to be shut down which really sucks. If you ever get a chance to come to Cambodia make sure this place is on your list pf places to visit.
be Angkor Wat but the king decided he didn't like the location so scrapped the project and built Angkor Wat where it is today. The temple went into disarray so when we got there stones were in piles in front of the temple and throughout the temple. When we first walked up the security guard had us cross a plank over to a doorway that was boarded up, there was just enough room for us to crawl through and we entered a room full of stones piled up to the doorway. This is where the journey began. The security guard took us everywhere through darkened hallways, to other would be rooms, and into the inner yard of the temple. It was amazing to still see the intricate design on all the stones and walls even though work had stopped. It was almost like they carved the stones before placing them.
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