03 Feb 2020
Our guide (Cham) was fantastic. He was knowledgeable and really interested in the ecology of Kbal Spean, to the point of taking photos that he was including in a journal which showed changes over the seasons and years. He also helped other hikers who appeared to be without guides on occasions.
My husband and I are over 65 and found found the walk up relatively easy, though this was the cooler time of the year. In the past few months stairs have been put in tricky places, where once one had to clamber over the rocks. Once at the top there was very little water as this was the dry season. The carved rocks were still great. If I had a choice of cool(ish) and no waterfall or hot and humid with a waterfall, I’d choose the former.
We really enjoyed Banteay Srei and were surprised to learn that it was older than Angkor Wat and in better condition, though some repairs have been done. Cham was a good photographer too.
We returned from the rural area to go Preah Khan and Neak Pean. We enjoyed both. We could have gone to more temples, but we decided not to.
We were picked up on time and dropped off when we had had enough. Cham was a great guide and I loved all the stories about the various gods as well as the actual history of Cambodia.