Sending Christmas cheers far and wide! From my family to yours, Merry Christmas to all of you! Even though this year has been incredibly wild for all of us, I think keeping the right perspective with a grateful heart is very important! Wishing everyone a lovely Christmas time, and may the whispers of the wind this Christmas carry love, peace and joy, to you and to your family.
One of the things my husband and I enjoy doing here in Cambodia are motorbike trips to the countryside. Since my son moved here in the Penh, we haven’t had any motorbike trips to the countryside as the three of us wouldn’t fit safely on a motorbike anymore.
Since my husband and I wanted our son to have a closer look at the countryside, and experience what it’s like traveling with a semi-open vehicle on a dusty rough road, and give him a feel of a real adventure, I enthusiastically packed our lunches, then we excitedly hopped into the tuktuk (passapp) and headed 30km south of Phnom Penh to gleefully escape from the city. It took us about an hour and 30 minutes to get there.
Our first stop was at Ta Phrom Temple in Tonle Bati, built in 1200 CE by King Jayavarman. This Angkorian temple with Hindu Buddhist deities has the same name as the one in Ta Phrom in Siem Reap, they are different from each other, though. It is comparatively smaller when compared to Ta Phrom in Siem Reap, but had some beautiful carvings. We enjoyed our visit there, and as we strolled around the temple, we spied excellent charming specimen of Bayon art style like in the Bayon Temple in Siem Reap. We also glimpsed three headed elephants and a reclining Buddha on lintels of flora and story motifs, pediments, broken stones scattered close by. Although it’s a tiny temple, it’s in a good condition and a wonderful place to visit and explore. It was less frequented with tourist and locals alike, probably due to Covid-19 outbreak. It is certainly a secret treasure with interesting ruins to get away from the hustle and bustle of Phnom Penh.
What made our experience in Tonle Bati’s Temple different from our temples visit in Siem Reap was the lush flowering shrubs inside and outside the temple. The blooming bushes provides gorgeous colors and definitely perks up the temple. As we sauntered around the place, we felt like we ambled in Cinderella’s fairy tale garden. It was beautiful!
Then we swung by to the nice picnic spot on the lake for lunch. We rented a floating hut adjoining the lake for $20 that included a mat and two hammocks. We enjoyed our packed lunches, took an afternoon siesta, relaxed and talked about everything under the sun. I saw many families enjoying their little detour from busy life. We were happy with the vibe and a lovely experience.
Two hours later, we drove back home. We had fun riding on the bumpy, dusty and busy roads. Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures, and exploring the unexplored is the most adventurous part of the traveler’s life. We arrived home just in time, as it started to rain cats and dogs as soon as we stepped in into our cozy place!
Little Lilly Meets the World 