Beng Melea

Approaching Beng Melea from the causeway.

Ruins

The jungle is barely kept at bay here. Seventy Kilometers west of Banyon, the heart of Anchor Thom, lies Beng Melea. It is a temple in the jungle, a hard seventy kilometer Tuk-tuk ride from Siem Reap. The temple sits astride what was once one of the great Angkor roads that ran from the Angkor complex all the way to the mountain temples on what is now the Thai border. I have read that it is still possible to traverse this road on a dirt bike, crossing ten ancient Khmer bridges that have been almost swallowed by the jungle. The crossings are reported to be very difficult. Hmmm......

I arrived early and was rewarded with near solitude. Beng Melea is mostly tumbled down or tumbling down. There are piles of cut stone to scamper up and down on, places to hide, and marvels to discover. There is a wooden walkway that allows visitors to safely navigate above and through the piles of rubble. Leave the walkway, which is completely allowed, and you will find places to hide from the small tour buses which will inevitably show up, even here.

For the first hour exploring Beng Melea, I was happily alone, scampering about like a monkey. In fact, I managed to step in some gen-u-wine monkey poo, which is about as unpleasant as it sounds. When two small tour buses showed up, I simply made sure that I was where they weren't. A game of cat and mouse. There are many, many hiding places here.

While the entire main tower has collapsed into a pile of stone, there are still many parts of the structure that are standing. Some of the walls are remarkably intact. Some of the libraries, a common feature of Khmer temples, had partially collapsed roofs, leaving arched stones precariously balanced in mid-air.

This was my break from the Angkor complex. Today, the sun has returned and I am heading back to the temples for the last day of my three-day pass. Today is the Big One. Anchor Wat. I will arrive around lunch time, when many folks head off for a noon meal. Then Angkor Thom and finally sunset at Pre Rup.

But right now, I am being lazy and drinking good coffee on the rooftop of my guesthouse. Tomorrow will be a long boat trip from Siem Reap to Battambang.