Prae Roup Temple, Angkor, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Travis

On the fourth day in Siem Reap we decided to visit the Angkor region one last time, our three day pass had finished so we purchased a single day pass.

We made one last round of Angkor Wat temple, Prae Roup Temple that we had somehow missed, and gave the sunset on Phnom Bakheng a proper go.

Angkor Wat Temple

We had a quick stop at Angkor Wat from the eastern entrance, it wasn’t as crowded and still presented some nice views of the protruding central towers.

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Angkor Wat viewed from the Eastern entrance

Gopuras of Angkor Wat viewed from the East

Travis and Sonya at Angkor Wat Eastern entrance

The outer Eastern wall of Angkor Wat viewed from the West

Outer entrance Eastern wall of Angkor watt with Sonya taking a photo

Gopura of Angkor Wat viewed from the windows of the Eastern wall

Prae Roup Temple

Pre Rup temple is an eighteen meter high platform of three large towers. Once we reached the top we saw glimpses of Angkor Wat from afar.

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Pre Rup stairs to the base of the three towers

Looking down towards the entrance of Pre Rup

Mythical lions with the towers in the background

One of the towers of Pre Rup, notice the growth on the bricks

Simple person figure carved into the tower's bricks

Sonya and Travis at one of the entrances

East Mebon

Small temple with elephant statues around the outer terraces that made for good photos.

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Elephants around the terraces of East Mebon

Phnom Bakheng

Having left Phnom Bakheng prematurely previously, we decided to give the sunset viewed from this hill once last go, it was a nice way to end our time in the Angkor region, though I still think the sunset is overrated.

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Bayon at sunset, Angkor, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Travis

As we where cycling back, we caught a few photos of Bayon at sunset. The reds and blues were a nice backdrop to the silhouetted faces.

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Banteay Samre, Preah Khan and Neak Pean Temple, Ankor, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Travis

Banteay Samre Temple

From Banteay Srey, we headed to Banteay Samre temple, a small, quiet temple with lots of doors and windows which allowed for good photo opportunities.

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Sonya standing inside one of many arches

Intricate Kala deity carved in the stone

Sonya reclining in one of the doorways of the temple

The central spire of Banteay Samre Temple

Travis at the corner of the inner wall of the temple

Preah Khan Temple

One of the temples we missed when cycling the short leg, Preah Khan has been left unrestored, overgrown by jungle similar to Ta Prohm.

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Intricate stone carving of battle above doorway

Sitting praying statues with small kala monsters in-between

Travis resting on one of money door ways

Tree overgrowing one of the small external buildings

Scattered stone blocks of the ruined temple

Green moss around the entrance with the jungle in the background

Sonya sitting underneath the roots of a large overgrown tree

Tree growing from the roof of the outer wall

Neak Poan Temple

Neak Pean is interesting in that the small temple is situated on an artificial island surrounded by water. Neak Pean was originally constructed for medical purposes, a form of a hospital, the water believed to have healing properties.

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Looking over the four pools at Neak Pean

Statue of a horse, one of the four sacred animals

Banteay Srei, Angkor, Siem Reap, Cambodia – the jewel of Khmer art

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Travis

On the third day of exploring the Angkor region, we decided to rest from the cycling and hired an auto rickshaw to explore some of the further out temples. The first temple was Banteay Srei which was twenty-five kilometres from the main Angkor region. Banteay Srei is unique due to it red colour, a result of being contrasted from red sandstone. The red sandstone also allowed for intricate carvings, which can be seen throughout the temple.

One of the interesting things we stumbled on was meeting Ted Brattstrom who was taking a giga-pixel photo of the inner portion of Banteay Srey using an automatic robotic mount. You can view the GigaPan here.

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