Here are some of our favorite photos from the trip (each photo is a thumbnail linked to a higher quality picture.):
240) Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - It was a busy, busy day today so these descriptions will be long ones. First of all the day started early. We were up at 4:30am in order to meet our group in the hotel lobby for a 5am departure. No time for breakfast but Jonna brewed herself a cup of tea in the room while we were getting dressed. The reason for dragging out of bed at this ungodly hour was to make the 30 minutes drive to the amazing temple of Angor Wat in time for sunrise. When we arrived it was quite dark so while I had a general idea of where we were it was anyone’s guess as to where to stand to get a good view. This is a challenge because there are tens of thousands of people all trying to answer the same question. We somewhat randomly picked a spot then waited the 30 minutes until the sun came up. We had a nice view with the temple reflected in a pond but it turned out that the actual perfect view of the sun breaking above the temple was further to the south of where we ended up.
241) Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - We moved and got to enjoy that moment as well though it wasn’t from as photogenic a location. Nonetheless, it was about taking in the moment and not taking a perfect photo so it worked out.
242) Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - Next our group went into the temple itself. The temple is made up of three levels. We had about 30 minutes each on the first and second levels. The third level is closed once a week for Buddhist holy days and today was one of those so we couldn’t climb up to the top. Even with the massive crowds it is an impressive place to visit. The temple is massive so it absorbs large crowds pretty well. It was impossible to have any spot to ourselves but it was also rare to have to wait to see something... and there is so much to see: bas relief carvings, shrines, statues, architectural features, scenic vistas and the ever present reconstruction work. In total we spent about three hours in Angkor Wat.
243) Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - Every surface inside the temple is covered with some sort of decoration, whether it be carvings, paintings or architectural pieces like pillars and lentels.
244) Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - The complexity of the carvings show what a culturally rich civilization the Khmer Empire was. This carving, over a doorway, was probably 6 feet tall and nearly that wide. All intricately carved stone.
245) Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - We couldn't climb up to the central temple but I was able to take a photo looking up the closed staircase.
246) Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - Some of the most incredible carvings are on the outer hallways of the inner temple. There were hundreds of feet of walls that were all carved with images depicting stories from Hindu mythology. This small section shows the gods lined up pulling on the serpent Vasuki to churn the ocean of milk, in order to get the nectar of immortality. This image extended for about 20 feet down the wall, with the other half mirroring this section but showing the demons who were doing the same thing. Beautiful art and remarkably well preserved for something made in the 12th century.
247) Bayon, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - When we exited we got back on our bus and went straight back to our hotel so we could eat breakfast and change clothes. At 5am the temperature was already in the 80s and with Angkor Wat being surrounded by reflecting pools and water reservoirs I am guessing the humidity was at least in the 60% range. Once the sun came up the mercury started to climb. I was dripping with sweat before we even entered the temple so two hours later I was soaked through. We drained all our water then refilled on the bus and drained them again. Then pounded water and juice with breakfast. Jonna showered and I changed into a dry shirt but then at 10:30 we all met up again and went back into the Angkor Archeological Park. This time it was to visit another iconic site - The Bayon temple (aka The Faces Temple).
248) Bayon, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - We started at the bridge leading into the Bayon temple complex which itself is carved with the same "Churning the Ocean of Milk" images. The railing on one side of the bridge depicting the gods pulling on their half of the serpent and then on the other side were the demons pulling on their half. This photo shows one of the scowling demons.
249) Bayon, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - We spent about 1 1/2 hours going through this one and I was surprised to find how cramped and narrow it felt inside when it is actually a much larger temple ground than Angkor Wat. The faces are amazing but they are remarkably hard to see from inside the temple.
250) Bayon, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - Once again, the walls are richly decorated but now not only showing stories of Hindu mythology but also scenes from Buddhist mythology as well as images of daily life in the Khmer Empire. This panel highlights a large naval battle fought on the nearby lake between the Khmer and the Cham (from Vietnam). However, it also shows people going about their daily life including scenes of farming, fishing, raising animals and carrying goods to market.
251) Bayon, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - Trying to get a shot of the iconic towers covered with smiling faces is tough but there were a few courtyards where you could look up above the walls to glimpse the famous faces.
252) Bayon, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - In addition to being historical sites the temples are active religious sites and locals still docorate some of the statues and leave offerings like this statue of the Buddha in one of the side rooms of the Bayon.
253) Baphuon, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - When we exited the Bayon we went past the Baphuon which is another, even earlier temple. (The Baphuon is early 12th century while both the Bayon and Angkor Wat are late 12th century). We could see the front of the Baphuon which looked very ancient across green algae filled "reflecting" pools. Our guide specifically asked us not to visit the Baphuon because of how long we spent in the Bayon but some of our group went anyway. That meant the rest of us were stuck in the heat waiting for them to return. Ugh!
254) Baphuon, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - In front of the Baphuon was a long, raised walkway decorated with 2/3 scale elephants. The elephant was the powerful animal of the jungle so images of the elephant was used everywhere to represent the power of the Khmer royalty. So a platform like this, lined with elephants, would have been a particularly impactful message for the people who lived in this city at the time.
255) Ta Prohm, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - We finally got back on the (air-conditioned!) bus for the short ride to Ta Prohm (aka the Tomb Raider Temple - as it was featured in the movie of that name). It was seriously hot now so our visit was shortened to 45 minutes. Despite the shortened time allotment it was my favorite of the three temples.
256) Ta Prohm, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - The largely un-restored nature made it really atmospheric. It is easy to see why it was used as a movie set. Giant banyan trees with roots the thickness of a human body have intertwined amongst the stones of the temple splitting walls, collapsing roofs and lifting foundations. Add in the smaller crowds compared Angkor Wat and it felt special to explore it.
257) Ta Prohm, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - Every step brought another incredible scene. The carving was just as beautiful and ever-present as the other temples so our limited time meant we has to walk past so many interesting bits of art because we simply didn't have time to examine every wall, doorway and courtyard.
258) Ta Prohm, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - The Banyon trees are what make the place so scenic and we did take the opportuntity to get a rare couple shot. The tree was so massive that getting the photo required doing a vertical panned panorama shot.
259) Wat Thmey, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - After over two hours of sightseeing most of our group was done and ready to head back to the hotel to relax by the pool. But Jonna and I were willing to push on seeing as much as we could. So we asked the tour bus to drop us off along the main highway near a place we had made reservations to visit at 3:30pm. Since it was only 1:30 we walked a few blocks to a restaurant called Maom Khmer Cuisine to get lunch. I felt bad walking into a fine dining establishment when I was drenched in sweat but once I felt the air conditioning no way was I was gonna walk back out. Sorry to leave sweat stains on the white table cloth but it was too hot to leave! Thankfully, everyone else in the restaurant were tourists coming back from the temples so we were all a sweaty messes together. We ordered dishes that are upscale versions of traditional cuisine. Jonna got a sour chicken soup (made with fermented preserved limes she liked so much back in Battambang) and I got a vegetarian version of Amok - the national dish (a ginger curry dish, mine with shredded veggies). Both were delicious. One of our best meals in Cambodia. However, it was expensive at $20.28. I’d have paid that much just to sit in an air conditioned room! I know I am droning on about the heat but it is an ever present...well, presence. The walk as we left the restaurant was uncomfortably hot. The direct sun on my back felt like someone was pressing an iron to my shoulder blades. I’d checked the temperature as we left and the air temperature was 96 but in the direct sun it must have topped 100. We slogged our way north a couple of blocks until we passed a Buddhist temple we had passed on the way in - Wat Thmey.
260) Wat Thmey, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - It was only 3pm which meant we still had 30 minutes available so we went inside. It turns out that the grounds of this monastery were used as a Killing Field by the Khmer Rouge and there is now a small museum, a mass grave on display and a memorial stupa with most of the remains that were found here. We paid a nominal entrance fee and then walked through the site. It wasn’t as overwhelming as the sites in Phnom Penh but sad nonetheless. Just seeing the lifeless skulls stacked inside the stupa and thinking of all the lives that were not lived. Sigh.
261) Apopo Visitor Center, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - From Wat Thmey it was a short walk to the Apopo Visitor Center - also known as the Hero Rats of Cambodia. After 30+ years of modern conflict Cambodia was once considered the most heavily landmined countries in the world. No one knows where they are and thousands have died since the wars ended in 1998 - nearly always civilians and often children. Finding and removing landmines and unexploded ordinance is a slow and dangerous task. Until the mid-2010s it was done with metal detectors. That means a person walking slowly sweeping a detector back and forth. Unfortunately, many of the anti-personnel mines used by the Khmer Rouge were made primarily of plastic specifically to make them harder to detect. Organizations, including Apopo have trained dogs to sniff out explosives but anti-personnel mines only take about 3kg of weight to detonate. Dogs can weight that much. The solution? Rats. Specifically, African Giant Rats. The rats top out under 2kg, are super smart and live around 8 to 10 years meaning they have a long working life after ~2 years of training. The success rate of this program is incredible. In the nine years since the program started operating in Cambodia the rats have found thousands of devices and cleared millions of square meters of land. Sadly, their largest financial backer was USAID. Sigh. Anyway, we got to hear about the program (including a detailed breakdown of a 2023 program they ran which identified around 30 explosive devices. Next we learned about the most common devices found and the history of using these devices in Cambodia and the effects - just last month two children died when they found an unexploded mortar shell. Next, we got a live demonstration on the center’s practice field. One of the rats, Ratana, and his two handlers swept the practice field until Ratana found the buried practice ball (which contained trace amounts of TNT). It was very cool.
262) Apopo Visitor Center, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - Finally, those of us who wanted to got to hold one of the rats - we got to meet Glenn. Because we were covered in sweat Glenn was happy to crawl into our arms and lick the salt off our arms and neck. The whole experience was fantastic. If you want to learn more, or better yet donate, check out: https://apopo.org.
263) Wat Preah Prom Rath, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 6, 2025 - After we finished at Apopo we grabbed a tuk-tuk back into Siem Reap but had the driver drop us off at the main Post Office. It was quick and easy to buy post card stamps so we could send a bunch we’d bought over the past couple of days. From there we walked a couple of blocks and as we went past Wat Preah Prom Rath, the temple we visited last night when it was closed, we saw it was open. Thankfully, while we were in Apopo the sky had become overcast and that had dropped the temperature by about 10 degrees. It was still hot and muggy but at least we were no longer being slowly broiled. We left a donation and then went inside. In the main shrine an older monk was teaching some younger monks (and a half dozen dogs!) The shrine itself was much simpler than I expected from such an ornate building. We also walked around the inner grounds the wall of which was decorated with murals showing scenes from the life of the Buddha. After Wat Preah Prom Rath we were exhausted but somehow managed to stumble the 10 minutes back to our hotel. When we walked in just after 5pm we’d been on the go for over 12 hours and had walked around 7.5 miles. Whew. Jonna jumped straight into the pool but I chose to shower and enjoy our room’s air conditioning instead. After resting for nearly 2 hours we met up with 5 other folks from our group to walk back into town to eat at Banlle Vegetarian Restaurant. This turned out to be another great meal and we had some interesting conversations as well. We got back to the hotel around 9pm and went straight to bed.
264) Pre Rup, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 7, 2025 - For our final day with the tour group we had another busy day on the docket. When we got up at 6:45 it was raining which was a slight bummer but I think we felt more relieved that the weather hadn’t come yesterday when it would have ruined our Angkor Wat sunrise. We ate a quick breakfast then gathered all the things necessary to deal with the weather: rain jackets, umbrellas, pack covers for our bags and hiking boots (me) or sandals (Jonna). At 8am we boarded the bus for a 30 minute drive to our first site of the day - the Pre Rup Temple. This temple was built nearly 200 years earlier than the ones we visited yesterday and it was immediately obvious that this one was different. All the 12th century temples were made from sandstone which was ornately carved.
265) Pre Rup, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 7, 2025 - This temple was made from blocks of red volcanic rock and much more crudely decorated. We climbed the steep staircase to the second level but once again the uppermost level was closed. In this case it was a safety issue rather than a religious reason. It didn’t take long to see this small and simple temple but it was valuable to see what the later temples evolved from architecturally.
266) Neak Poan, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 7, 2025 - Next, after a short bus ride, we arrived at our next temple and while it was the smallest of them all it was the most peaceful. Oh, and the rain stopped on the bus ride but it was still cloudy. This kept the temperature down into the mid-80s but the evaporating rain pushed the humidity way up. All this meant the mosquitoes were out in droves! And for this temple that was doubly true because of its location. The Khmer people of the 1100s were masters of hydrology. In addition to all the ponds and moats and reflecting pools they also created huge reservoirs which were used to support farming and fishing for the 1 million people believed to be living in this area at that time. In the middle of one of these reservoirs the Neak Poan Temple was built as a "hospital" (or at least the 12th century equivalent.) At the time a boat would have been required but now there is a pedestrian bridge.
267) Neak Poan, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 7, 2025 - The reservoir is filled with lotus and water lilies and fish and ducks. Mist was rising off the surface and the rain forest covered island was an array of every shade of green. It was ridiculously scenic!
268) Neak Poan, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 7, 2025 - The temple itself was a simple setup - a central sandstone building surrounded by a moat and some statues. In each of the cardinal directions was a square pool, each with a small temple to each of the four elements each of which is personified by a different animal. There were only a handful of other tourists, a stark contrast to the bigger temples nearby, and it was a lovely experience.
269) Prasat Preah Khan, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 7, 2025 - Then it was back on the bus for another short ride to the last temple of the tour - Prasat Preah Khan. In contrast to the other two this was a huge complex. And like Ta Prohm that we saw yesterday only limited restoration had been done here. So it had all the atmosphere of Ta Prohm but with the physical size of Angkor Wat. It also had the lack of crowds like Neak Poan. It didn’t have the intricate carvings that make Angkor Wat and The Bayon so iconic but otherwise it was perfect!
270) Prasat Preah Khan, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 7, 2025 - The carvings were more crude but still had some interesting imagery like this carving of a garuda (a Buddhist image more commonly seen in the Himalayas).
271) Prasat Preah Khan, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 7, 2025 - One of the inner shrines in Prasat Preah Khan contains this carving of a Devata - a sacred woman. It is believed this was probably ones of the wives of King Jayavarman VII, either Queen Indradevi or Queen Jayarajadevi. Regardless, the shrine is actively worshipped by the locals and there were many offerings there when we visited.
272) Prasat Preah Khan, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 7, 2025 - One of the standout architectural features of Prasat Preah Khan are the long hallways throughout the temple complex. They provided very scenic photos like this one shooting through a series of rooms down the length of one side of the complex.
273) Prasat Preah Khan, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 7, 2025 - We spent about 45 minutes wandering through it. The final sight was this temple which contrasted with all the other buildings we'd seen by having round columns rather than solid walls. An architectural curiosity! A fitting end to our visits to the temples on our tour. We were supposed to go straight to lunch afterwards but one member of our group got lost so we had to wait in the bus for half an hour while the wayward person was tracked down. When we went to a nearby restaurant for lunch it was over priced (there aren’t many options in the middle of the outer temples) and the food was mediocre. Oh well, roll with it.
274) Chong Khneas, Tonle Sap Lake, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 7, 2025 - Our final sightseeing stop was after lunch. We hopped back on the bus for a 50 minute drive south to the edge of Tonle Sap Lake. This is the largest fresh water lake in southeast Asia and is home to almost a million people. And by that I mean that a million people living *on* the lake in floating villages. These aren’t just floating markets where produce and fish are sold but are complete villages with houses, shops, temples, bars and restaurants - all built on floating platforms made from every possible floating thing. We saw barges, water barrels, 55 gallon drums, bamboo poles, re-purposed boat hulls and some built on stilts that are driven into the mud. In the dry season, which it is now, the lake is only about 5 feet deep. Very shallow for a lake that is the 135 km by 35 km. Then, in the rainy season the size of the lake swells to 260 km by 100 km and the water rises to a depth of 40 feet. A massive change which is why the villages are built to float. We took a tourist boat out and weaved through the village of Chong Khneas. Then we stopped at a floating shop where we tied up and went aboard. It was interesting but also sad. The people living in these villages are desperately poor - the reason they live here is they can’t afford to buy land. As a result they scramble to earn a living and this shop does a trade in animals and animal products. A big cage held about 20 crocodiles which are raised in a cramped pen and then slaughtered for their meat and skin. Inside were Civets, birds, frogs, and other critters. All in cages just big enough to hold them. Very sad.
275) Chong Khneas, Tonle Sap Lake, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 7, 2025 - The other sad sight was all the trash. With no way to handle garbage a lot of waste just goes into the lake. So the surface and shore was covered with plastic of every conceivable type. For the people living in Chong Khneas there are other challenges. The only power is from make shift solar - car batteries with small solar panels tacked onto the roofs. Water for drinking has to be shipped out in big jugs and sold in the stores as the lake water isn’t sanitary. Most stoves are now propane/natural gas so canisters of that are also shipped out by boat. Then there are storms during which the floating homes have to be moored together or towed to shore. It is a hard life. Our tour guide was actually from a floating village near here but her family was able to move on-land when she was 6 but she could still share a lot of insight based on what three generations of her family had experienced living on the lake. After one hour learning about the floating village we returned to the pier and reboarded our bus for the 30 minute drive back to Siem Reap. We got back at 4pm and immediately headed to our room to relax. We spent a couple of hours starting to re-pack our bags after a luxurious three nights in one hotel! Our tour group gathered at 7pm for the farewell dinner which we had at a restaurant near the hotel. We had a nice dinner but it was in a private room that was very echo-ey so it was very difficult to even have a conversation with the person across from you - having a group discussion was impossible. Once the drinks started flowing and the volume went up another level we bowed out and returned to the room. We were staying in Siem Reap for a couple of days on our own and were quite excited to return to the joy of traveling with just the two of us. However, we had to change hotels early in the morning because we'd booked a tour for the day to see more temples! This meant we were happy to turn in early.
276) Baby Elephant, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 8, 2025 - When we woke up if felt like we were really counting down the days now. This was our penultimate day in Cambodia and our last day visiting temples. We started off getting up at 5:45am so we could pack and be at the hotel breakfast when it opened at 6:30. We ate quickly, said our final goodbyes to our Intrepid guide Borey and then handled our check-out at the hotel. Then we called a Grab ride share for a trip to the hotel we will be at for our final nights in Siem Reap. This hotel, called Baby Elephant, was a small boutique place down a quiet alley. It is quite cute and the staff are all women who are being trained with the skills to work in the tourist & hospitality industries. A nice place and a good cause. They let us store our luggage while we went out on an all day tour. They would check us into our room, move our bags in and then just give us the key when we return this evening. Oh, and they have a pool, a small spa and most importantly *two* cats!
277) Beng Melea, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 8, 2025 - We had pre-arranged a 10 hour bus tour to a remote temple complex and had set a 7:45am pick-up at the hotel. By 8:10am we were concerned and called the tour company via WhatsApp. They assured us a driver was on the way... and the driver did arrive in exactly the time it takes to drive from their office to our hotel. The driver had a handwritten note of "Baby Elephant" so I think they’d forgotten about the pick-up even though it was noted on our reservation. Opps. Anyway, no worries and we soon joined six others in a van for the one hour drive to our first stop - Beng Melea. Oh, and that sign? It says that this are was recently cleared of land mines. This sign noted the group CMAC but another sign we later showed Apopo had done the clearing so our being able to safely visit this temple complex was assisted by the Hero Rats!
278) Beng Melea, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 8, 2025 - Today was both a weekend and a holiday so traffic was heavy. Interestingly, today is International Women’s Day and this is a big holiday in Cambodia. Families gather with grandmothers, mothers, wives and daughters to sightsee and have picnics. So after visiting temples packed with white tourists we spent today seeing temples filled with actual Cambodians! Beng Melea is a temple that was built outside the main Angkor Complex but along the major Royal Road going east but at the same time (12th century) as Angkor Wat and most of the other temples we have been seeing. What made visiting Beng Melea special is that it has had no restoration work and has a sky boardwalk built through it so you can look down on the ruins.
279) Beng Melea, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 8, 2025 - Again, very atmospheric. It is basically a giant 3D jigsaw puzzle waiting for someone (preferably with a crane) to come reassemble it. We spent an hour in Beng Melea and left around 10:15am to head to our next stop. Oh, weather report, I almost forgot. This area, further away from the massive inland lake, is drier. That meant it was hotter (upper 90s) but less humid (well below 50%) so another day of drinking a bottle of cold water after every temple.
280) Prasat Pram, Koh Ker Complex, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 8, 2025 - We drove for another 40 minutes to arrive at our next stop Koh Ker. Most of the temples we’ve been seeing around Siem Reap, with one exception were built in the 1100s. Well, long before then the Khmer Empire was around and building temples. Simpler - made of volcanic stone rather than sand stone - and all dedicated to Hindu gods. One interesting bit of this history was a 20 year period between 920 and 940 AD when one king tried to move the capital far to the east. This was the Koh Ker period where a vast palace and temple complex with around 25 individual temples was built and then mostly abandoned when the king and his son both died in quick succession. The surviving nephew shrugged and moved the seat of power back to Siem Reap which led, 200 years later, to the majestic temples there. Anyway, the rest of our day would be spent hopping from temple to temple inside the Koh Ker complex. Our first stop was Prasat Pram - a five tower temple dedicated to the three main Hindu gods: Brahma (creation), Vishnu (protection) and Shiva (destruction).
281) Prasat Pram, Koh Ker Complex, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 8, 2025 - This was definitely the most beautiful as two of the towers were engulfed by giant banyan trees which looked stunning.
282) Prasat Nean Khmau, Koh Ker Complex, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 8, 2025 - Next we moved to Prasat Nean Khmau which was a single tower devoted to Shiva. It was mostly intact but the temple statues had long ago been stolen. This, was its own story. First, during the many centuries of war with the Sukhothai empire (in modern day Thailand) this area changed hands regularly can involved the looting of temples. Then came the French in the late 1800s who stripped some of the temples to fill art galleries back in France. Then came the Khmer Rouge who stole from the temples and sold the antiquities on the black market to fund their government and their later war against the Vietnamese. So while many of these temples were originally richly decorated they are pretty bare now. Oh, and another problem. When the Khmer Rouge were overthrown by the Vietnamese in 1979 they retreated to this area to fight a protracted 10 year war trying to reclaim control. During that time they mined all of these temple grounds to deny their use by national and Vietnamese soldiers. So decades of work had been required to remove the landmines and unexploded ordinance before any conservation or restoration work could begin. We saw many signs saying "Area cleared of mines in 2022” or “...2023". Finally, even though Koh Ker is a national park the rural villagers use this land for their animals and their hunting - especially once it was cleared of mines. So there is regular burning of the ground to flush out animals, there are cows grazing along with locals bringing incense and flowers as gifts to the spirits, etc. It is a complicated place!
283) Linga 1, Koh Ker Complex, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 8, 2025 - Our third and fourth temples were side by side so we saw them both at a single stop. These are called Linga 1 and Linga 4. This is because they are two identical buildings of what was probably a larger temple complex at one time. What makes them special is they still contain their idols - a single giant stone Linga (a stone representation of the God Shiva’s penis). These were too large to move so they were never stolen for museums.
284) Linga 4, Koh Ker Complex, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 8, 2025 - The entrance to Linga 4 had collapsed which made getting up to the doorway a little trickier but we managed it.
285) Prasat Thom, Koh Ker Complex, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 8, 2025 - By this time it was past noon and sweltering hot. We stopped at a "restaurant" within the Koh Ker complex to grab lunch. Really, it was a tent with some picnic tables underneath but at least it had shade and cold drinks. The food was mediocre and over-priced but it was back to the captive audience problem. After lunch we walked from the restaurant to the premier temple in Koh Ker - Prasat Thom (literally "big temple" in Khmer).
286) Prasat Thom, Koh Ker Complex, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 8, 2025 - Prasat Thom is a seven layer pyramid that is 116 feet high. It must have seemed like a tower to the sky when it was built in the early 10th century. We walked around it and then climbed to the top for the view out over the tree tops. We had been seeing families and particularly women at all along but it was most evident here. A 79 year old grandmother climbed to the top and then celebrated when she got back down. We gave her a big round of applause and were greeted with a huge smile. Other older women waved or smiled or tried to talk to us the whole time we were in this temple.
287) Tomb of the White Elephant, Prasat Thom, Koh Ker Complex, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 8, 2025 - As we came back down from the pyramid we walked in back to see the Tomb of the White Elephant. And at the white elephant shrine women poured bowls of water over an elephant statue since mythologically the White Elephant was the magical impregnator of an important virginal woman goddess.
288) Prasat Damrei Kandoeng, Koh Ker Complex, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 8, 2025 - After Prasat Thom we had just one final stop - Prasat Damrei Kandoeng. This was also a Shiva temple but with four elephant statues, one at each corner, and a carved door top lintel showing a three headed elephant it shows the influence of the God Indra.
289) Prasat Damrei Kandoeng, Koh Ker Complex, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 8, 2025 - This was the most interesting of the temples we saw in terms of decoration so it was a fitting end to our visit to Koh Ker.
290) Street Market, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 8, 2025 - We spent nearly two hours driving back to Siem Reap. This too was interesting because this is very rural country so we got to see many different types of farming - rice, cassava, cashews, bananas, durians, vegetables, etc. we also saw cattle, chickens and ducks all being raised. Everyone was busy out here - no rest for the farmer even if it is a holiday. We got back to Siem Reap at 4:30pm and the van dropped us off at our hotel. We rushed straight to our room and cranked up the A/C. We showered and rested for awhile then headed out to find dinner. A short walk brought us to a Mexican restaurant called Angkor Tacos. We had passable Mexican food - not authentic but a lot closer than a Cambodia cook should have been able to make. We walked around the Old Market for a bit but things were seriously rockin’ on Saturday night and we aren’t the type to like being in the scene. One thing I did see that I enjoyed were the street racer tuk-tuks. Slammed down to the ground with fat tires, fender flares, whale tail wings, glowing under chassis LED lights and thumping stereos. Pretty cool! We were happy to retreat back into the quiet alley where our hotel was. We went to bed faintly hearing the music from Pub Street in the distance.
291) Siem Reap River, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 9, 2025 - Today was our last day in Cambodia so we decided to finish off our trip with a visit to the Angkor National Museum. We knew the day was going to be another hot one so we scheduled our day around getting there when it opened because it was a 40 minute walk from our hotel and we didn’t want to be doing that in the afternoon heat. So, we were awake at 6:45am and down at breakfast by 7:15am. Unlike all the other hotels we have stayed at on this trip this hotel didn’t have a breakfast buffet but had an actual menu service. We ordered a western breakfast and ate sitting under a patio roof out by the pool. Once breakfast was over we had a couple of errands we needed to deal with: first was dropping off our last load of laundry so we get it back tonight. Next we started walking north along the Siem Reap River in order to visit the Central Post Office to drop off postcards on our way to the museum. As we neared the museum we heard some music on a side street on the other side of the block that contains the Royal Residence (the "cottage" the King stays in when he visits Siem Reap... needless to say it is pretty fancy for something called a cottage.) In front of the Royal Residence is a block wide entrance garden with sculptures and plants called the Royal Independence Gardens. Inside this is a temple called the Preah Ang Chek Preah Ang Chorm Shrine and that temple was buzzing with energy. A group of musicians were playing music, people were leaving offerings and praying, families in their dress clothes were getting their pictures taken. Just outside the fence around the temple there was a street market selling all the items used for offerings - incense, flowers, fruit, statues, etc. The best image from walking through was a small, older man in a dress suit dancing away to modern pop music playing through a boom box mounted on the back of his scooter. We have no idea what the occasion was but we enjoyed getting to walk through and experience the scene. The Royal gardens are also home to huge trees which are home to hundreds of flying fox fruit bats. We spent some time watching them fly around and listening to them chatter. I would have enjoyed watching them longer but it was hot and you can’t stand under the trees where the shade is because a few hundred bats up in the trees means it isn’t safe underneath.
292) Angkor National Museum, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 9, 2025 - So we kept on moving and eventually made it to the museum. Our wandering meant we arrived about 45 minutes after it opened but we had survived the walk without melting so it was a close enough to our plan. The museum turned out to be fantastic and, from what we could tell, is very under appreciated by the tens of thousands of tourists that visit Siem Reap. The building is modern and expansive. It could easily hold two or three times the items it currently holds. As a result there is plenty of space to beautifully display all the pieces they do have, and to have lots of descriptions about the history, religious and/or cultural importance and artistic style of each item. We were really impressed and it seems like this is another instance of an ex-colonial country building an impressive museum space to basically say to the western world "You should repatriate back to us all the items from here that you have sitting in your museums". The museum’s displays span two floors which are separated into six display rooms (3 per floor). Some are themed based on items - for example there was a gorgeous room called 1,000 Buddhas Gallery which just contains statues of the Buddha.
293) Angkor National Museum, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 9, 2025 - The 1,000 Buddhas Gallery contains every concievable type of statue - wood, bronze, gold, ceramic and more as well as showing the Buddha in all the classic poses: standing, seated and reclining.
294) Angkor National Museum, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 9, 2025 - Some galleries are based on places - for example two galleries are devoted to Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. There was a gallery just for ancient script writing showing Sanskrit and Khmer writing on steles, temple offering pillars and boundary markers. The final gallery was devoted to the Apsara images - statues and carvings showing the female celestial dancers from Hindu legend that were the inspiration for classical Cambodia ballet. We spent over three hours in the museum (including a break in the middle for Jonna to get a latte and me to drink a mango smoothie). Three hours in air conditioning alone was worth the entry fee and all the stunning art was a huge bonus.
295) Haven, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 9, 2025 - It was nearly 1pm by the time we left so lunch was our next priority. Jonna found an online review for a kabob place nearby so we walked there. I am sure the tuk-tuk drivers in front of the museum were already planning what they were going to buy with the money they would be making off the two white folks walking out of the museum and into the mid-day sauna outside because they all looked shocked when we waved them off and walked out to the sidewalk. The restaurant was only a few blocks away but whoo was it hot. 96 degrees/43% humidity and not a cloud in sight. Lunch was acceptable, mainly because we had both had our fill of rice/noodles with curried veggie/pork/chicken - the staple meal here. Because we enjoyed the art cafe in Battambang so much we decided to check out an art gallery that was in the direction of our hotel. It turned out to be a disappointment - just more art with a Cambodian theme clearly made for tourists rather than creative art. The walk the rest of the way back to the hotel was hot, hot, hot. It felt twice as long as when we walked it in the morning. Once back in our room we cranked up the A/C and relaxed - writing our last post cards, catching up on email and me typing up my daily log. At 4 Jonna got a one hour massage at the hotel. For our last real meal in Cambodia we hopped in a ride share tuk-tuk and went to Haven. Haven is a Swiss based non-profit that takes disadvantaged youth from orphanages, poor rural villages and off the streets of cities and then provides them with a free skills training course for working in restaurants along with language skills, life management skills and personal development. The food was creative and delicious. The service was the best we have had on this trip. The staff were all very sweet. Definitely recommended!
296) Haven, Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 9, 2025 - I had enjoyed passionfruit juice in Vietnam but in the heat and humidity of Cambodia a glass of iced passionfruit juice is in nectar of the gods territory!
297) Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 9, 2025 - The temperature had cooled down for the evening so we decided to walk back which took about 30 minutes. We got to see a night food market that was definitely for locals, some tailor shops cranking out dresses late into the evening, some back alley beer parlors with loud but friendly patrons and then walked into the tourist zones which had a very different vibe. Bright, frantic, loud and crowded. While walking through here I finally managed to catch a photo of one of the hot-rodded tuk-tuks! We got back to the hotel a little before 8pm and spent the evening packing while listening to podcasts. We had to leave early in the morning to head to the airport so we turned pretty quickly after we got back.
Go forward to the seventh '25
Vietnam And Cambodia Photo Page.
Go back to the fifth '25
Vietnam And Cambodia Photo Page.
Return to Alan and Jonna's Travel Page
