When you decided to visit Angkor, I recommend you to do the first day what they called the small tour and the second day to get up early to see the sunrise near a temple. We decided to go to Phnom Bakheng temple to see the sunrise (and to be honest to avoid the crowd…because Angkor Wat is known as the most crowded place at sunrise and sunset ). Our lovely driver (who was the same as yesterday!!!) dropped us at the beginning of a little road in the dark (he had even a flashlight for us ), so we climbed (and we met a German woman who hadn’t any flashlight…), and 10 minutes later we arrived at the temple. We didn’t know exactly where to go, but we decided to go up. And it was so amazing to be the only one to watch the sunrise (a few minutes later, other people arrived, but I think that we were only 10-15 peoples ).
This temple was built between the late 9th and early 10th centuries. It has particular importance even many buildings are in poor condition. It was to here that Yasovarman I moved his capital from Roluos, 13 km southeast of Siem Reap. The city, called Yasodharapura, was 4 km square and enclosed by an earth bank. It was centered on the isolated hill of Phnom Bakheng. It is a pyramid of ascending terrasse surrounded by subsidiary sanctuary towers. The name of the divinity and the temple was Yasodharesvaram, the Lord of Who Bears Glory.
When it was around 6:45 am, we went down back to our hotel to have our breakfast and ready to go again at 8:00 am!!!
First stop at Prasat Preah Khan temple, which was built in the late 12th century. This temple was one of Jayavarman VII’s most significant projects. It appears to have been a Buddhist university, as well as a considerable city. As at Ta Prohm, the foundation style was discord in situ, and it gives a significant amount of information about the temple, its foundation, and its maintenance. It was probably the site of the former palace of Yasovarman II and Tribbuvanadityarvaman. It has the reference as the lake of blood because Preah Khan was built on the site of a significant battle in the recruiter of Angkor form the Chams, and the Cham King died here. Perth Kan was dedicated to the king’s father, Dharanindravarman. In his likeness, a statue of the bodhisattva Lokesvara, Jayavarmesvra was consecrated in this year.
Then we took our tuk-tuk to Neak Pean temple, which was built in the late 12th century. It is a very unusual small monument, a cruciform arrangement of ponds with a sanctuary tower on a circular island in the middle (which is symbolism). It may represent the sacred Himalayan lake of Anavatapta. This lake was famous for its miraculous healing properties and as the source of four great rivers issuing through the mouth of a lion, an éléphant, a horse, and an ox.
Prasat Ta Som temple was built between the late 12th century and 13th century. This small temple is like a miniature simplifier version of Ta Prohm or Banteay Kdei, owes its charm to a combination of remittent semi-ruined state and face towers. It lies at the foot of the East dike of the baray Jayatataka, slightly North of the axis formed by Neak Pean and Preah Khan to the West. The temple is probably referred to as the inscription as Gaurasrigajaratna, the Jewel of the Profits White Eléphant, and it sounds they have the house of 22 divinities.
East Mebon temple was built in the middle of the 10th century. The vast East Baray that surrounds East Mebon was made about half a century earlier than the temple, by Yasovarman. It was needed to guarantee regular water supply for his new city, Yasodharapura, and was 7,5km long by 1830m wide. Now dry, it was capable of holding about 55 million cubics meters of water when the water level reached 4m and was called Yasodharataka: the reservoir of Yasodhara. A stele was installed in each corner, engrave with Sanskrit poems that declared it under the protection of Ganga, the goddess of India’s holy river the Ganges. The temple was dedicated to divinity Rajendresvara.
Banteay Samré temple was built in the first half of the 12th century.
This temple received fewer visitors than most temples in Angkor. The design of its single ogival tower is immediately recognizable as that of Angkor Wat (and you can find a lot of monuments in NE Thailand this way too…). The temple has the appearance of a compacted Phimai very much. No inscriptions are detailing its foundation, but it seems likely that it was built by a high official of the court of Suryavarman II during his reign.
We finished our tour with Prasat Kravan temple, which was built in the early 10th century. It was a tiny temple with five bricks sanctuaries. Their brick bas relief is the only known examples of their type in Khmer art. The temple, whose modern name means Cardamon Sanctuary (named after a tree that stood there). The interior decoration is in the form of frescoes. It was dedicated to Vishnu, which is reflected in its finery.
After this last temple, we went back to the hotel, and we enjoyed the pool (again…it was so so hot!!!!), and we went to Siem Reap to discover a little bit of the city. We went for a drink (and having beers or cocktails was inexpensive, like half a dollar for a beer and 2 dollars for a cocktail, excellent, so we took many!!!!).
We enjoyed so much being in Cambodia and discovering all these temples even if a lot of them are ruins was terrific. We are pleased that a lot of countries are helping with the restoration, it is fantastic to keep all these traditions and monuments alive!!!!
