Sunday, September 24, Day 3, Car trip

We ate from the hotel breakfast buffet again. Neil likes oatmeal for breakfast and he likes seafood, and he was delighted to find bits of fish and squid in his first spoonful. These Cambodians sure like to put fish in everything! The sweet little woman at the omelet station made us delicious omelets with ‘everything,’ but oddly, there was no fish or squid – I guess they were Western omelets.

Today we were going farther outside of town and into the mountains. We booked the hotel car for the tour and it turns out Mr. Thom continued as our driver. Mr. Nara met us at 8 am in the lobby. Before we left, Mr. Neil offered each of them a ball cap from the selection he had brought along from Maui. They were so excited to get them. 

Our first stop was Banteay Srei, referred to by the locals as the “ladies temple.” The actual translation according to Mr. Nara is the Citadel of the Women. It is known for its beautiful red stone and deep intricate carvings in the temple walls. I really enjoyed seeing this one.

It had taken about 45 minutes to get to the temple and another 30 minutes more driving brought us to the Phnon Kulen Mountain checkpoint. This required a separate ticket which we had purchased in town before we left. We proceeded up a steep concrete road twisting through hairpin turns as we climbed the side of the mountain. As we started to level out, the road turned into a red dirt road or, more accurately, a red mud road.  I was especially impressed with the motor scooters navigating the calf-deep mud in places.

We went to the end of the road and then walked through local shops and restaurants to get to a long flight of stone steps. I didn’t understand what we had come to see here. We took off our shoes and climbed higher until we came out to a platform that allowed us to go in to see a giant reclining Buddha carved into the top of a huge boulder with a magnificent view. Known as Preah Ang Thom, it is believed to have been carved in the 16th century and was lost for centuries because the wooden stairs and roof had rotted away. A hunter rediscovered it when he climbed a nearby tree to retrieve his prey.

We had left our raincoats in the car and as soon as we came down the steps from the reclining Buddha, it poured. We took refuge under a leaky-roofed shelter with a modern Buddha and Neil and I took the time for meditation.

Next stop going back down the road was at Kbal Spean, where more than 1000 lingas and other holy images have been carved into the river bedrock. The Hindus believed that water flowing over them became holy and served as a continual blessing to all the people as it flowed downstream into the Siem Reap River and thence into all the reservoirs at Angkor Wat. Due to recent rains, the stream was full of water but we could still see some carvings through the water in a few places. They are more visible in the dry season and Neil will include a few photos from the internet as examples. We walked upstream and came to a sacred spring off to the side of the river that was a beautiful blue turquoise color.

We next drove a short distance down the road and turned off into a parking lot with a hundred other cars. We walked downhill and came to a waterfall where people were wading and frolicking, but we could see that it fed another waterfall right away. There were safety lines to keep people from being swept over the higher falls. We waded out for our photo to be taken and the current was so strong we had to be careful to place each foot carefully. One of us taking a single step at a time while stabilizing each other. Mr. Nara took a few nice photos and then we continued to the bottom of the huge waterfall known as Kulen Waterfall. Due to the recent downpour, there was an impressive amount of water coming over the falls and at the bottom it produced a strong wind heavily laden with water droplets and mist. We were told this was another location used in Tomb Raider. We loved the mist and power of the falls. Mr. Nara proposed the restaurants on the path would be a good place for lunch before driving back to town. I am sorry to say this was the most expensive and most disappointing lunch we had had on the trip so far. Neil’s soup was so full of tiny needle-like fish bones, they sank to the bottom and got into the vegetables so badly he couldn’t even eat those.

Further down the road Mr. Thom pulled off to the side and we climbed out not knowing where we were going. What we found was Poeng Ta Kho, an incredible overlook on top of sheer cliffs. Mr. Neil directed Mr. Nara where to go to take that breathtaking picture of us. Seems like he’d never discovered that spot before because he got so excited he asked Mr. Neil to take a photo of him on his own phone. He immediately sent it out to his family!! 

On the way back Mr. Neil was asking about the groves of cashew trees and Mr. Nara had us pull over to look at them up close. He explained that the tender new leaves were edible and used in cooking some dishes. Neil put some partially nibbled leaves in the cup holder and later felt something walking up his arm. It was a tiny praying mantis the same color as the leaves! We stopped to release it among some trees. It was after 5 pm when we finally arrived at the hotel and said our goodbyes to Mr. Nara. We knew we would be seeing Mr. Thom in the next few days since he worked at the hotel and we would need transportation for dinners and to the airport.