Siem Reap and Angkor - Day 2

Today was the day to be a true blue Cambodian tourist - be at the temples when it opens! We were up at around 5:30 am and after a little bit of whining from the girls, we were out of the hotel at a little past 7:15. We had booked a car this time as we were covering more distance. 

We drove the same route as previous day and I was trying to recall if he had crossed any large lake other than Srah Srang when I realised it was Angkor Wat's moat that we were passing!

Ta Prohm

Known in more recent times as the "Tomb Raider temple" after this was featured in Angelina Jolie's Lara Croft movie, Ta Prohm was a Buddhist monastery built between the 12th and 13th centuries. Though nature had taken over most part of the monastery, it was not completely devastated. Man made structure and nature seem to co-exist in perfect harmony at Ta Prohm. The restoration also ensured that the trees weren't removed completely.

Eastern entrance to Ta Prohm

Tickets checked and we reached the east entrance of Ta Prohm a little after 7:30 am. There were already a few people there and it was a long walk from the entrance to the temple. The girls enjoyed swinging on the branches/roots along the way before we reached the eastern facade of Ta Prohm. 

A huge tree growing out of the temple

The sight of a silk cotton tree growing from the temple excited us... its thick roots wrapped around the stones as if it were claiming ownership and protecting it from human interference. There were just a few tourists and we snapped away to our heart's content. Soon we heard a guide arriving with a small group and we hastened to see the other parts of the temple before it grew crowded.

Yet another tree staking its claim over another part of the temple

There was a wooden walkway laid through out and we had to keep to it at most parts. There were also some sanctuaries cleared and were available for exploration. 

Sanctuaries gleaming in the morning sun

Many of the carvings seemed to have been painted over and the walls had both red and green colours on them.

An Apsara with both red and green colours

There were more trees claiming ownership over their own parts of the temple. Some with strong thick roots and some with a bunch of thinner roots. It was fascinating to see how nature had a free run in the few centuries that this temple was uninhabited. The restoration is fabulously done. 

One of the structures featured in the Tomb Raider movie

The same structure overrun with tourists, just a few seconds later!

We spent nearly two hours at the temple and encountered a few Asian tour groups in the narrow passages and all the popular photo spots.

One of our targets for the temple was finding the stegosaurus. No one quite knew how a dinosaur found it's way into the carvings. Perhaps dinosaurs lived much longer than we though they had? Or perhaps, it was some other animal? 

We asked a guide and a guard for the location and they pointed in the direction of the sanctuary which was supposed to have this carved. Due to the twisty nature of the walkway we soon lost sense of the direction and had almost given up hope when I connected the sight before my eyes with a picture I had seen on the internet. I quickly located the middle sanctuary and lo! There was the stegosaurus! The girls got excited seeing it and our mission was fulfilled. 

Spot the Stegosaurus!

It was now time to head back to our car waiting to take us on the long circuit. We followed "the wall" from the western entrance to the eastern entrance. After being coerced by a tiny Khmer boy into buying some magnets, we got into the car and headed to our next destination.

The western entrance of Ta Prohm

Pre Rup

Pre-Rup is a tiered temple located at the corner of East Mebon (a large lake which has since been over run by jungle). This was supposedly built around the 10th century (before Angkor Wat) during the period of Rajendravarman using brick and laterite. It looks visually very different from the stone temples of the 12th-13th centuries (Angkor period). There are 5 separate sanctuaries at the top, placed very similarly to the towers of Angkor Wat. Based on the layout it is believed to be a cremation site. 

Though the laterite steps seemed steep at first look, we realised, as we climbed, that they weren't so. It wasn't very difficult climbing to the top for the not-so-fit me! There isn't much to look around the top except for the view over the now jungle East Mebon. 

The sun was already beating down hard and we decided to climb the steps back down. By this time the younger was already "templed out" and refused to climb and kept whining!

Banteay Samre

Believed to be the palace of the sweet cucumber farmer from the "Samre" tribe who became king, Banteay Samre was built in the 12th century. It is quite compact. The layout was reminiscent of a South Indian temple.

This temple was nearly deserted when we stopped here. We met a couple that we met before at Ta Prohm and Pre Rup. We got around to discussing the sunrise at Angkor Wat. I'm mighty thankful we did! They described their experience about how a big crowd enters Angkor Wat at 5 am and there's a scramble to get front row seats near the pool. They happened to be in the third row and the husband, being tall was able to capture the picture of the sun rising behind the temple. There were interestingly named cafe representatives who supply coffee to your spot. When I realised that being there at 5 doesn't guarantee you a front row seat, I decided sunrise wasn't for me! 

We started exploring Banteay Samre. Without our Ancient Angkor book, we were completely lost and wandered around the temple aimlessly. Most of the interiors were roped off. After a quick walk around we left the temple by it's east entrance. The younger was nearly wailing by this time and with the heat getting unbearable we just wanted to get back into the car.

Neak Pean

Built in the second half of the 12th century Neak Pean was a temple whose waters are supposed to have cleansing/healing properties. Located in the middle of Jayatataka baray, a long wooden walkway takes visitors across to a small pool with a temple.

The children were not ready to get out of the car in our next spot and hence it was only SC that visited Neak Pean. He said it was stunning! That's now 3 reasons to return!

While SC was away gaping at Neak Pean I was chatting with our driver Smaai about life in Cambodia. He was telling me that there were far fewer tourists this peak season compared to the earlier ones as there's some political unrest. He was also talking about life in Cambodia.. how families of men have to pay the women during marriage. About the lack of good schools and that many youths who complete secondary school move on to better job opportunities in Thailand, S Korea and Japan. He told me he learnt to speak English from a monk in a monastery. Monks speak many languages and many of them learn a new language paying a small donation to the monastery. No wonder I saw many official guides speak French and Chinese!


After Neak Pean we broke for lunch at the eatery across from Preah Khan's western entrance. The food was ok and I was getting tired with Rice and some curry! I could have those coconuts all day!

Preah Khan

The eastern entrance of Preah Khan over the moat

Built around the 12th century it has a moat and a similar Naga-Asura-Deva crossing over it. However it predates Angkor Thom. Our driver said that while Ta Prohm was like a "school", Preah Khan was like "university". It seems to be have been a monastery.

Aligned doorways

Thought the visit path was fairly straight, there seems to have been alterations and additions to the original structure that the layout seemed slightly chaotic. Many sections were roped off and we stuck to the main path.

Krishna holding up the Govardhana hill and protecting his subjects from the wrath of Indra

Hermits carved in the recesses in the library

Unusual round columned building 

An apsara with a flaming head gear

It was about 3 pm and time for us to return to our hotel. An early start had drained us of all our energy and the girls were only too eager to return to the comforts of air conditioning and wifi!

Siem Reap

It was time in the evening to take a walk to the town of Siem Reap. We were contemplating going for a massage and just a little beyond our hotel we came across the Devatara Spa announcing it won the Trip Advisor award for Excellence. We soon made our bookings and went on to get some shopping done.

We went on to the Angkor night market, passing by the Bugs Cafe, (yes they eat bugs from grasshoppers and crickets to snakes and tarantulas!) where there were loads of souvenir shops and Fish Spa! 

Fish spa got the girls excited and we found a store that had about 6 different tanks with different sizes of fish. We chose 2 tanks with the smallest fish and dipped our feet and were soon surrounded by 10s of tiny little fishes tickling our feet. It felt creepy at first but we soon got used to it and were enjoying it for 30 minutes.

Then we looked around Angkor Night Market buying more Elephant T Shirts, a wooden puzzle for $4, a pouch with the Cambodian elephants on it for $2 and some Krama - 3 for $5.

It was time for us to return to the Spa and the 1 hour massage was a rejuvenating experience!

The reception of the Devatara spa

We were too tired to hunt down a restaurant for dinner and we contented ourselves with some Mexican food near our hotel.

Our last night in Siem Reap and that meant I had to complete packing before retiring around midnight.

<<< Day 1 - Angkor Wat, Bayon and temples on the small circuit

Day 3 - Banteay Srei, Kbal Spean, Beng Melea and practical information >>>