Temples Galore in Angkor

(Day 2) I wore slippers today. Thanks to an overgrown "next-to-the-pinky" toenail that made it unbearable for me to wear my rubber shoes. But definitely, today was really something. Visited a lot of temples and even went to one that is 37 kilometers away. But it was so worth it.

Firs stop was (1) Baphuon which is again inside the Angkor Thom complex. Close to it was (2) Phimeanakas which was fronted by the famous (3)"Terrance of the Elephants" and (4) "Terrace of the Leper King." Phimeneakas is similar in architecture of the Inca temples - the ziggurats, if I got that right.

After being done with the Angkor Thom complex, we exited via the Victory Gate and immediately stumbled upon (5) "Chau Say Tevoda." Where I took a shot of my manicured but overgrown toenails hehe Next was (6) Thomannom and then (7) Ta Keo. The first two were "little temples." And after a while, you get the feeling of "same old, same.." But that feeling was shortlived however, when I visited the famous (8) Ta Prohm - the site where Angelina Jolie filmed a portion of Tomb Raider.

That is how the temple is known about these days - as Anglina Jolie's. But more credit should be given to the temple. It is beautiful and dramatic, given the overgrown trees dotting the place and threatening to reduce everything to mere ruins. There were restorations everywhere, as what can be seen in my photos of Angkor Wat and other temples later on. Somehow, it lessened the dramatic effect of the temples but it feels good knowing that they are being preserved for the generations yet to come. These temples are a testament to man's genius, to the greatness of our spirit, to what we can all achieve if we only set our mind and heart to it. Aside from that, they were religious, spiritual centers too, and for that they hold a much even greater significance.
(9) Banteay Kdei and the "pool complex" of (10) Sras Rang, completed my morning tour.

We stopped for lunch at one of the restaurants dotting the area. I paid a total of $11.30 for mine and the tuktuk driver's. I ordered Spaghetti and Tomatoes, a banana shake (which I consumed before the spag arrived. It was that good.), and a can of coke - because the spaghetti was bad hahaha! I was debating at that time whether it was just a preggy thing or what but it sure did tasted funny to me. It looked good and I appreciated the finely chopped tomatoes. It was a unique treatment of the sauce compared to the Italian-kind we do at home where the tomatoes are stewed whole. But the sauce tasted funny. It was like they put some Khmer kind of oil or sauce in it. It was a hearty serving but I managed to eat just half of it. That's when I ordered Coke, despite an earlier resolve not to drink softdrinks anymore. I felt I needed to wash the taste out of my palate hehehe.

The bad thing was, while I was able to do something about the taste in my mouth, I did not anticipate it would cause trouble for my stomach too. Some time in the afternoon while visiting one of the temples, I felt the urgency to just sit down and sit still hahaha It was so bad that my stomach seems to be communicating its protest for my utter lack of judgment. It was grumbling so loud and so bad I was scared the other tourists might start to notice and wonder. Good thing was, there wasn't much around since we were doing the not-so-famous circuits of temples hehehe

In the afternoon, we started with (11) Pre Rup. It was huge, and again like that of the Incan ziggurats. After that, we moved on to (12) Banteay Srey which is 37 km away from Siem Reap. It was a long trip even from Pre Rup. It took a while to get there but it was beautiful. If my memory serve me right, it is the first if not among the first temples to be built. Its color is red, which sets it apart from the rest. I noticed the land around there is red too. Clayish so maybe that explains it. The temple is pretty much detailed as well.

I was already very tired by then and was walking more slowly but I knew there were still two to be visited for that day. I hate to cancel them since they are too out-of-the-way and thus while we're at it, it's better to visit them as well. So off we went to (13) Banteay Samre and (14) Prasat Kravan. The latter is pretty much like a "gate"of sorts than a temple. While there, I overheard a fellow tourist asking his guide, "So why like this?" I was wondering the same thing hehehe

Imagine that, yesterday I lost count of the temples that we visited. So it's 14 in all. No wonder Im so tired today. Anyhow, my soul's content :)