Final day of temples.

Having visited the 3 major sites, it was time to visit some of the lesser known temples within Angkor Wat archeological park. First up was Banteay Kdei, which like Ta Prohm is a temple in the jungle, just a lot quieter.

I did see a number of people come and look at the front, then leave shortly after but didn’t explore within the temple itself.

Which is a shame, as I had a whale of a time looking through windows and doors.

Not to dissimilar to Angkor Wat, just smaller.

And very reminiscent of Ta Prohm with the trees

Then it was off to Pre Rup which was very much cleared of the jungle within the vicinity.

Again the influence of Angkor Wat is very clear.

Pre Rup is on several levels which you can climb via the steps.

The steps are very steep.

I chose the steps with the handrail. Which I gripped on to for dear life. Up Up Up the stairs. 

You get a very good look at the towers from up close.

And then you descend. Back to Terra Firma. Phew.

The final temple of the day was a much smaller one called Kravan.

And that is a wrap. I did seriously consider staying in Siem Reap for a few more days, but the in the end I decided that it would have been a major hassle rearranging flights and hotels. So onward to Phnom Penh !

Ta Prohm.

Ta Prohm, or more popularly known as the Tomb Raider temple and this is where temple meets jungle. There is a lot more shade courtesy of said jungle. When the Ta Prohm was re-discovered the powers that be (The French) decided that Ta Prohm would be left largely as it had been found as “concession to the general taste for the picturesque” while still being stabilized so that it would collapse any further. And I have to say I think the French made the right decision. 

Ta Prohm in the jungle.

And of course the jungle has encroached into the temple in many parts.

This particular tree was very popular with the tour groups, but we all queued so that we could have our photo taken. Everyone really was transfixed. 

If you strike a pose you too can be Angelia Jolie.

Today we will have a look through the Rectangular Window.

The third image down is known as the Ta Prohm Dinosaur. Wikipedia has a page about it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur_of_Ta_Prohm

In all fareness is “does” look like a stegosaurus.

And exit though the Bayon style gate.

No some visitors manage to visit Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm all in one day but for me I chose 3 consecutive day. Some people may suffer from “Temple Fatigue” but my advice not to rush, and take it slowly.

Angkor Thom Part 2.

Moving on from the Bayon, it’s a short walk to the Baphuon Temple. This temple has largely collapsed by the 20th century so what remained was dismantled into 300,000 labelled & numbered blocks so that it could be shored up and rebuilt. This ground to a halt when the civil war broke out and the carefully detailed plans were destroyed by the Khmer Rouge after the fall of Phnom Penh.

Work began in 1996 to rebuilding the Baphuon which had become known as the largest 3D jigsaw puzzle in the world, and took 16 years to complete.

The next temple is the Phimeanakas Temple, and I thought that this was it.

But it isn’t. I think this a Gopuram or monumental gateway tower leading to Phimeanakas. Oh well ! It was rather hot.

Finally there are 2 terraces, the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King.

Terrace of the Elephants.

Terrace of the Leper King.

There was very little shade, so I called it a day, hopped into my Tuk-Tuk and got driven back to my hotel.

Angkor Thom.

To the north of Angkor Wat is Angkor Thom, the ruined capital city of the Khmer Empire. Within it are several more temples and structures. There are 4 main gates to enter Angkor Thom, and the best preserved is Southern Gate.

You cross the bridge over the artificial moat.

And your Tuk-Tuk drives through.

The major temple is the Bayon, this is one with the many faces on the towers. Unlike at Angkor Wat the day previously the sky had no ominous clouds. There were however many large puddles left over from the deluge. And puddles mean reflections.

Well it would be wrong not to make use.

There are lots of towers, and there are lots of faces. There are also monkeys, and one jumped on the my back, and they are vicious little blighters. One the temple custodians shouted something in Cambodian and it jumped off. 

 And there are lots of impressive carvings.

But mostly just towers. With faces. And it was very impressive.

I started the day at 730 and the crowds compared to Angkor Wat the day before not as crowded. The Bayon is also slightly more uneven under foot, and the central tower is being shored up in a joint South Korean-Cambodian conservation project.