Exploring the snake infested Temple

We knew about the poisonous snakes around, having read all about the vipers and cobras, so I was being extra cautious while exploring the amazing ‘Beng Mealea’ temple. We had woken up extra early to make the 1.5 hour drive to the ruins that have been reclaimed by the jungle. We were mostly alone, apart from a few of the people working there…

one of the workers started pointing out secret passages, each one more narrow and dark than the last…

I hadn’t originally planned on venturing off the set path, but some great photo spots abounded in all directions. Then one of the workers started pointing out secret passages, each one more narrow and dark than the last. With the Indiana Jones theme playing in my head (and occasionally even humming it out loud), I dove right in and had a blast jumping and climbing from stone to stone, testing the steadiness of each ancient cut rock and even crawling as the path became more difficult and the passages more narrow. The whole time, while scanning for cool photos, I also kept my eyes peeled for snakes above and below while snapping some great shots. At one point, with the worker edging me on into a dark, narrow corridor, I wanted to make sure we would be able to come back the same way, since Nici was waiting behind on the main wooden path. He said there was no way back, but still wanted to show me where the dark tunnel led. I declined and was about to step back when I caught a quick glimpse of a snake only centimeters from my back foot! I jumped out of the way and quickly headed back, warning him about the slithering danger headed his way. He, without even looking just kept trying to persuade me to continue claiming, “No snake, no worry. No problem… No snaaaaa… Ohhhhh Snnaaake!”

On exiting the temple, the throngs of tourist had just started to arrive. What an awesome start to our most adventurous day of this trip yet.