Angkor Wat Day 3 - The Final Episode

Day 3, where to start? Once again, we got up at the crack of dawn to meet our tuk tuk drivers in front of our guesthouse. They took us to our first temple of the day, Pre Rup. We had already been there on Day 2, but they decided it was the best place to see sunrise.

As you can see, Danny was a little tired. We all were having a little trouble with the earliness of the hour.

Still, I was very happy to be there.

This is Evan's picture of the sunrise.

Some carving details.

And as we left, another view of Pre Rup, this time at sunrise.

Our next temple: Banteay Samre. Banteay Samre was built about the same time as Angkor Wat. It also contains a large sarcophagus which may have been used to wash or in some other way purify dead bodies. Cool, right?







A couple Lensbaby shots I took at the temple. I love the Lensbaby, but I think it's in some ways an acquired taste. Evan often tells me that there are some shots the Lensbaby is no good for, and I usually disagree.



Danny and I found this tree with really cool brush-like flowers that had all fallen on the ground.

His obvious task was to create some artwork of deep meaning with them.
But what?

Is it? Can it be . . .

Yes. It is an 8. Wait, no, that's not meaningful. Oh yeah, it was an infinity sign. It just happens to also look like an 8.

After the temple, the predictable children came to hawk their wares. Nevermind that it was 7:30 am, there is no respite, not when you could be selling a scarf for a dollar, or 3 scarves for $2 (great deal, I know!). They continued to offer me such bargains until the tuk tuks motored off.
It was a bit of a drive over to the next temples, so here are a few photos taken along the way.

A man fishing in a small roadside lake:

A girl walking through a field.

A haystack.

A bicycle.

A man on a bicycle.

And then we arrived at the next temples. A set of three, really, all in close proximity to each other, but not really close to anything else. They are known as the Roluos group, and comprise Bakong, Preah Ko, and Lolei. First we visited Bakong.

Looks a little small, doesn't it? That's because we got this amazing hot air balloon ride over the temples, so I took this from the air. Nice how they label the temples, isn't it?

So, okay, yeah, it's a scale model. But it provides a nice overview of the temple. Here are some pictures of the real thing.



And a couple Lensbaby pictures.







The head of a naga guarding the entrance to the temple.

The path to the temple.









Evan delighted in running into the shot just as I was taking it.

A view from the top.

A view down into one of the many doorways.

After the temple, we went across the street for breakfast. There were about five ladies who wanted us to buy breakfast from them, with identical menus, and no way to choose between them that wasn't arbitrary, so they all played rock paper scissors for our business.

The food there was delicious; Evan got a rice soup that had some sort of fish based broth. After, he decided to eat one of the fresh chilies on the table.


After Bakong we visited Preah Ko. The temple is dedicated to a sacred bull, and built to honor an ancestor of the king who built it, King Jayavarman II. Here's the scale model of what it would have looked like intact.


And here are a few photos of Preah Ko.

Evan takes a self portrait.



Here is some script carved into the wall. I have no idea what it says, probably a story or prayer or something like that.

The entire temple used to be covered in finely carved white stucco. You can see some of it still in some places, but for the most part it has been worn away by the elements.

This kid seemed tired or sad, and was just hanging out at the temple. Most Khmer seem not to be allowed into the temples, but some appear to be able to enter and sell items, or just sit and relax.

Some of the carvings around a doorway.

My mother in front of one of the doorways.

Some cows crossing the road near the temple.



Some Khmer children playing in the ruins.

The last temple of the day was Lolei. Lolei is small, only 4 towers are left standing, and it is certainly in disrepair.

A photo Evan took of me.

Another carved doorway, similar to Preah Ko.

Lolei is situated next to a monastery, as when it was built it was next to an ashrama.





After Lolei we went back to the guest house, which was a fairly long drive, compared to the previous two days. Here are some of the shots along the way.



After we showered and put on clean clothes (such a relief! hard to imagine any shower better than the ones I had in Siem Reap), we went out to lunch. Time for some more Lensbaby pictures!





Clean ice is sold in blocks like this and broken up for everyday use. Refrigeration is expensive, ice like this is cheap and safe to use for drinks or keeping your raw meat cold, so it is much more common to find a box of ice than to find a refrigerator.









After lunch and walking around, plus a short shopping trip to the market by my mother and myself, we decided to make the most of our final day and go to see Angkor Wat at sunset. Here is a picture from the tuk tuk we rented for the trip.

And some taken along the way.



Everyone else had the same brilliant idea to come for sunset!

And everyone had at least one camera. Can't miss the shot!



I switched away from the Lensbaby at this point, because a lens with autofocus is much faster to use, and I didn't want to hold the group up.

Danny was the only one of us without a camera.

This was a really cool vine covered tree.



Sunset silhouette.

After the sun sets they turn on lights at Angkor Wat, much like the lights in the aisles of airplanes.

One last apsara.

A view of the moat that surrounds Angkor Wat.

The torches they light in front of the temple.



And I know I've posted this picture before, but here it is in context. A couple Lensbaby pictures of nighttime in the tourist section of Siem Reap, taken with the star aperture.




That's it! It was an amazing trip, and it has taken me way too long to finish the blog posts for it, but to sum up:

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Trust me, you won't regret it.