February 25, 2004

Beng Mealea

Siem Reap, Cambodia

For my third day visiting the Angkor ruins I decided to go further afield. The girls were staying closer to Siem Reap so Panna, the driver, unfixed the back of the tuk-tuk and took me out on the bike.

First stop was Banteay Srai, a very popular and ornate temple 32km from Siem Reap. A quick visit there then I prepared myself for the next forty km's or so of dirt road to Beng Mealea. I wrapped my Moroccan scarf around my head and put my sunglasses on. "Very handsome", said Panna as I approached. "You look like Osama Bin Laden".

About two hours later, covered in dust, we reached the temple. Beng Mealea is unusual in that it has been left exactly as discovered. I was hoping for a sense of what the original explorers must have felt, coming upon these temples in the jungle. I was not disappointed. The temple was quite large and a fascinating combination of ruined walls, covered in thick tree roots and ivy, and some almost intact sections. There were even roofed corridors to explore.

I managed to shake off the local kids, offering as always to be a "guide", by ducking down a dark corridor and hiding for a few minutes. Re-emerging I starting looking for some good photo opportunities. As I took my time setting up for one difficult shot I noticed a young lad quietly watching me from a short distance away. As I finished and wrote up the entry in my journal he came down to look at the writing. Photo complete I get up to move on. "This way", he beckons. Well, it looks interesting, I'll follow. Turns out he really did know a spot that I probably wouldn't have found. After that I assigned him to be my assistant. He carried the tripod and led me to many interesting locations. Always patiently waiting for the photograph.

After a couple of hours I headed back to Panna and the bike. We still had a fair trip ahead of us to get back to Siem Reap. Sure enough, about half-way along the dirt road the back tyre is starting to go flat. We're in the middle of nowhere and there's very little traffic on this road but remarkably we've managed to break down right outside a house with a small store. They've got a tire repair toolkit so Panna starts to work.

I'm idly standing around, trying to look helpful, when wandering out of the wilderness comes the nun that I was sitting next to in the share taxi three days ago. I can hardly believe it. She walks past and I see a hint of recognition in her eyes. "Weren't you in the taxi to Siem Reap the other day", I say. "Why yes", she says, "Where are your two friends?" "Oh, they're back in town today. What brings you out here?" "Oh, my monastery is over there a little way", she says indicating towards a flat expanse of nothing. Of course, all this is done without a word being uttered.

Panna soon has the tyre fixed and we're back off again. It's just hitting dusk as we reach the outskirts of Siem Reap. Panna knows a shortcut and we're soon flying along a wide new road in an area of new development. With all the bugs in the air we both have our sunglasses on which makes for some exciting driving with the approaching night.

We're still a few kilometres out from the town proper when we get another flat tyre. This time there are no houses in sight. There's nothing for it but to start pushing the bike (well, Panna pushes, I walk). After a couple of km's, with night well and truly settled, Panna sees a house a little way off the road. He goes to investigate and sure enough, they have the tyre repair equipment. We roll the bike over and a one-legged guy starts to work on the tyre by candlelight. A couple of other people come out of the house to help, having a bit of a chuckle when they see me. I soon find my eyes drifting towards the sky and the stars and am surprised to see a very distinct constellation of red stars low in the sky. Each point of light is exactly the size and brightness of a star, but they're red and very slowly drifting upwards. I count eighteen and ask Panna what they are. "Balloons", he says, "made of paper and bamboo with a little fire below". Just like a hot air balloon. They were being sent up by a distant monastery in some sort of celebration. My eyes dropped to the one-legged man fixing the bike tyre by candlelight, then lifted again to see the new constellation raised in the sky. I found the whole thing very moving in a quite unexpected way.

I wanted to stay and watch the lights all night but the tyre was soon fixed and we were off again, speeding towards Siem Reap. The hustle and bustle of the big city was soon all around but I found I couldn't forget the red stars in the sky, peacefully rising towards the heavens.

Posted by David at February 25, 2004 11:13 PM