I had been hearing about K'bal Spean since the day that I arrived in Siem Reap. It was supposed to be this wonderful hike through the jungle which culminated in a view of a beautiful waterfall and an amazing riverbed of 1,000 lingas (carvings in the actual riverbed of hindu dieties and symbols). And let me tell you, I'd been putting off going for absolutely no reason really. Last weekend. when my friend Aldrin was in town, we decided it was time to take the two hour trek out of Siem Reap, into the rural countryside, to hike through the jungle and see this "amazing site." And to be completely honest...it was possibly, the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen. It was breathtaking.....unreal. Underneath the clear, rushing water flowing down from the mountain's peak, were hundreds of carvings in the bed of the river. It was fascinating. After photographing the carvings, we walked further down stream to where we could hear the rush of the waterfall. We rounded the corner and saw a small waterfall dumping water onto more carvings in the riverbed below. We enjoyed the view for a few moments, taking pictures (I was wishing I had my journal or a book, because this was the perfect place to find a seat and just be quiet).
I looked up and Aldrin had found his way to the other side of the river. When I inquired as to how he got across, he pointed to his feet and smiled. I rolled up my pants and started to walk through the water (which was covered with hovering mosquitos of massive proportions). The water was cold and the initial shock was so intense that I didn't realize that one of my sandals had fallen off of my foot and been carried down the river by the strong current. I screamed! I thought to myself, "Oh great. I'm in the middle of the friggin' jungle, and I'm going to have to hike back through with only one sandaled foot." I began running downstream after my sandal. My pant legs came loose and fell down into the freezing water. I yelled at Aldrin who was laughing pretty hysterically by this time, and he came running from the other bank. Thankfully, the sandal eventually wedged itself in between a rock and a hard place (literally) and Aldrin was able, from his end, to reach around and grab it.
I think he felt pretty good about being the one who rescued my sandal. I nicknamed him "Romeo" for the day and he didn't mind that either.
So, after our mini adventure, we headed back through the jungle (both wearing PAIRS of sandals) and were back on the road toward Siem Reap. The next day, Aldrin boarded a plane and headed for Laos to continue on his journey before returning to Seoul to teach. It was good to see him and great to have a friend from home out here with me. Somehow, though, I don't think he'll have as interesting of an adventure as we had with the "Great Sandal Caper"....ok, he might...it's a possibility. But, all the same, it was a pretty great day.
