10th February: Siem Reap, Cambodia
After breakfast, we met with Pear and headed off for the ‘long loop’ plus the bits we’d missed the other day. Our first stop was the Royal Palace, with its high canopy-level terrace and spectacular carved elephant entrance. Today, it is home to hundreds of monkeys, which enjoy sheltering in the shade under the elevated walkway and trees. There was so many tiny baby monkeys too, much we will never not find cute!
The first stop on the actual ‘outer loop’ itself was Preah Khan, another temple built for King Jayavarman VII in the late 12th century. It is thought that this site alone was home to around 100,000 and also acted as a Buddhist university, as well as a temple. Again, it was a case of avoiding the areas of bat droppings whilst exploring the semi-reconstructed passageways and courtyards of the four-sided site. Fortunately, we didn’t come across any cobras which apparently can be present here before the heat of the day kicks in.
To the east is Neak Poan, a temple set on an island in the middle of a vast rectangular lake. On this island is a further artificial lake with a central circular island, which is believed to be a site dedicated to health. On the eastern edge of the large lake is Ta Som, another mainly unrestored Jayavarman VII-era complex with trees growing amongst the ruins. Before continuing, we found our second fresh coconut of the day to keep us hydrated in the 35C weather.
Turning back south, we entered the area of the former artificial lake of East Baray. Incredibly, this 7.5 c 1.8 km reservoir was hand dug in the 10th century, making it one of the largest hand cut reservoirs on Earth. On a former island here lies the East Mebon temple. East Mebon and Pre Rup temple, to its south, share similarities in design. Both are 10th century mountain-style temples with increasing elevations and were constructed of small red bricks, rather than the large stones seen on other temples we’ve seen. Pre Rup is situated amongst a forest, giving a bird’s eye view into the sea of green at canopy-level. Despite the midday heat, these were two of my favourite sites across Angkor. The red bricks are evocative of the red soils and consequently feel more connected to the surroundings.
Our final stop was back in the inner area at Banteay Kdei. This sandstone temple was yet another built under the prolific Jayavarman VII, whose influence seems to be ever-present across Angkor. Again, this was originally a Hindu temple which became a Buddhist place of worship and home to monks right up until the mid-20th century. It’s been fascinating to explore the centre of the Khmer Empire and, even though we didn’t make a sunrise at Angkor Wat, seeing so much feels like an achievement. I think if we’d have visited here before Sukhothai or Ayutthaya it would’ve been a more immediate wow-factor but that’s not to say that this isn’t an incredible, must-visit site. Away from Angkor Wat, most of the sites weren’t as crowded as I feared either. I think my prior view that it would be uncomfortably busy was misplaced, although it is undoubtedly still busier and less relaxed than Sukhothai. The scale of Angkor is the standout factor with giant complexes for tens of kilometres in all directions, but every one of them still has intricate details. You could spend months here and still not see everything.
Heading back into Siem Reap, a different type of abandonment was clear. Many upscale hotels and complexes aimed at tourists sat empty and decaying on the edges of town. Perhaps, this area was hit hard by covid and only the inner town has recovered so far? Either way, I’ll be glad to move on from Siem Reap. It’s not a bad place, but I never feel wholly comfortable in places so clearly aimed at tourists.