Angkor Blimey – part 2

Banteay Kdei

After a somewhat overpriced lunch at a tourist cafe, our Tuk-tuk driver took us to Banteay Kdei which again had its own unique personality. This temple and the next one were having an epic battle with the encroaching jungle. Trees and ruins were competing for the same space and it appeared the trees were winning. This created some awesome images though, particularly at the next temple, Ta Phrom.

Banteay Kdei and the jungle

Never ending doorways

More broken bits

Ta Phrom

This temple was also known as the Jungle Temple. Here wood and stone were really going to battle. It appears that the Temple has not been restored but left roughly as it appeared to the Europeans who discovered it. How awesome would that be to stumble across some amazing ruins while exploring the Jungle!

 

The approach to Ta Phrom

No entry

Watch your head

More fallen bits

Nature triumphing

Spot the foreigner

The war rages on….

Preah Khan

On day two of our exploring we hopped on some bicycles for a bargain $1 each and cycled the 12km to Angkor. We only managed to see one temple before the heavens opened and drenched us!

Before the rain

A bird-man guarding the gateway

We almost had Preah Khan temple to ourselves as it was off the usual tour group circuit. It was the only temple that had a 2-storey section with circular columns supporting the second floor. Again, the jungle had encroached and trees and ruins were mingling everywhere we looked. Preah Khan was similar to other temples in that the central buildings were all aligned. Looking through the first door way you saw endless doors and corridors in a straight line. This actually made it slightly eerie (or ‘awesome’ from Rich’s perspective!).

Entering the temple

Never ending doorways

They must have been small in the 12th Century

Rich and I liked Preah Khan as again it felt like a proper ruin with sections having fallen down and left where they fell. The detail of the carvings and architecture was still clear to see.

Ornate carvings

2up 2 down

Not sure who is holding who up here

The encroaching trees add to architecture

Our next blog post will see us leaving Cambodia for Thailand. In the meantime, here are some of Rich’s not-so-distant relatives we spotted in Angkor…!