Day 147: Angkor Temples I
Travel Location: Siem-Reap,Cambodia
First thing to note about the temples of Angkor is that there’s just so many. Before this trip we, like most of you I assume, had heard of the magnificent Angkor Wat, but we didn’t know of the literally hundreds of surrounding sites and ruins. With this in mind, and intending to save the best for last, we hire a guide and tuk-tuk driver to explore some of the nearby ‘lesser’ examples.
Following the advice of our guide (and others) we head out to the ancient royal crematorium of Pre Rup and ascend the steep steps to the summit of its temple mountain in near total darkness. Getting there early we watch the sunrise over the surrounding jungle in peace and quiet, with only another handful of tourists here pre 6am. As our guide continues to tell us of the history of the Angkor empire we start to tune in to his accent and begin our learning for the rest of the day.
Tomb Raiding
Following a brief breakfast stop and short ride, now in daylight, we arrive next at the adjacent sites of Sra Srang & Banteay Kdei. The former is little more these days than surviving stone base and steps, next to the ‘Pool of Ablutions’ which was the former royal baths (really a large pond).
We enter the much larger and more impressive Banteay Kdei, a late 12th century Buddhist monastery, via one of the four huge gates decorated with Garudas (half man half bird beings) supporting the four faces of Avalokiteshvara above. These represent charity, compassion, sympathy and equanimity and prove to be a common feature throughout the rest of our temple tours. Much of this temple is in ruins, with precarious looking arches, piles of fallen stones and various wooden trusses maintain integrity. Despite all this there’s plenty to see and the central corridor, partly covered, remains passable as we walk west to east – we meet our tuk-tuk at the east gate and head onwards to a site we’re quite excited about.
Ta Prohm is one of the more famous sites and provides the iconic images of jungle overgrowing the walls, gates and buildings – indeed this was the backdrop for much of the Tomb Raider movie. Really amazing to see and definitely one of the most memorable regardless of the fact that this place was significantly busier than the previous (and future) stops today.
Climbing the steep steps, literally on hands and knees like a ladder, to Ta Keo’s central tower follows. Hard work, but provides a brief sense of achievement and a great birds-eye view of this 10th century temple dedicated to Shiva. We’re told that this represents how difficult it is and should be to reach heaven.
Next stops are Preah Khan and Preah Neak Pean. The former is actually one of the largest around Angkor with its central sanctuary almost 1sqkm in area. We find Its numerous towers and vaulted corridors in good repair, proving to be another fascinating place to ramble through and around. Apparently this temple once served as a royal palace as well as a university for monks.
The latter is much smaller, also late 12th century and built by Jayavarman VII who is described as the Donald Trump of Angkor having built so many (including the largest Angkor Thom). Basically it’s an ornate series of large ponds with small alters to animals representing the four elements, also functioning as reservoirs for irrigation.
Last stops today are the jungle infested Ta Som (Trump construction again), a little like a smaller Ta Prohm, and the Hindu temple of Eastern Mebon. Temple fatigue starting to creep in, and Jane having stubbed her toe (yes I’m sure it was much worse than that ….), we head home in the early afternoon and for lunch, and a nap.
