Temples, temples and more temples!

Today was very long and hot but good.

I was picked up at 8:05 and 13 of us were on a big, cool yellow bus.  Travellers were from Florida, Pennsylvania, Bulgaria, Australia, Germany and Italy.  

Our first stop was at Pre Rup Temple which was made in the 10th century. Originally there were 20 towers-

The red stone is lava rock-

It, as well as wood, sandstone and bricks made from clay were used in the construction.  Stone was moved 60 km by 6000 elephants.  Unfortunately during the Khmer Rouge time which was from 1980-1993, lots of the heads of statues were cut off and sold, often for as little as $10!  This happened because one of their rules was no religion.  Pre Rup is the #1 temple of Hindus.

There are many beautiful carvings-

Worship rooms-

and crematoriums-

The second temple was Neak Poan which was built in the 12th century.  To get there, you have to cross a big reservoir filled with lilies and lotus-

The reservoir was rehabilitated in 2008 and now provides water to a large area.  Water is collected during the rainy months in many similar reservoirs around the country so there never is a shortage in Cambodia.

Once across the reservoir, the temple itself sits in the middle of a small lake-

It is designed after the lotus which can be seen at the tops of the towers-

There are four entrances, one at each of the cardinal points-

King Jayavarman VII built it for medical purposes.  He also built 108 hospitals and used this temple to make medicine.  Banana flour soup was/is given to new mothers to help with milk production.  Coconut water with a ground up earthworm is given to bring down a fever.  For centipede bites, a chicken feather is rubbed with chicken saliva and put on the bite to stop the stinging.  

The third temple we visited was Preah Khan which was built in the late 12th century by the same king - Jayavarman, for his father and for military training as they had a calvary and army-

A singh looks like a lion and guards the entrance-

In certain towers there are lots of holes which were filled with rubies and other gems.  When the light hit the tower, it would have been so beautiful-

Carvings-

Lintels-

A lot of rebuilding has gone on but it’s a massive undertaking-

Lava stone-

We had a small bus with great air conditioning.  After ever temple visit, our driver met us at the door with cold cloths and water which were a lifesaver.  They also had umbrellas we could use but holding one was too awkward for me.  

The temples are all in a small area so they are easy to drive to.  We passed some rice fields that had been harvested and then burned.  This is a huge pollution problem in Southeast Asia-

For lunch I had chicken amok, a Cambodian specialty, served in a coconut.  It tasted like chicken stew made with coconut milk-

No thanks-

My favorite temple of the day was Banteay Srei which was built in the late 10th century.  It’s small but very beautiful and known as the crown jewel of Khmer art-

It was started by King Rajendravarman but finished by his son King Jayavarman who built the other temples we saw today.  

My Bulgarian friends wear the strangest clothes and her lips are so filled with Botox I don’t know how she can talk-

The cashew is the only fruit that grows its seed on the outside.  The fruit tastes like a pear but with a mushy apple texture-

We stopped at a cashew factory where I bought a kg for $6 US-

We had to drive through a temple-

with a really big head- 

and elephants on the corners-

The bridge has devil heads on one side and god heads on the other.  All heads were smashed during the Khmer Rouge civil war-

Our last stop was at Phnom Bakheng, built in the form of a mountain 65 meters above the plain.  It’s dedicated to Shiva, a Hindu god.  It was built at the end of the 9th century during the reign of King Yasovarman (889-910).  There used to be 108 towers but most have collapsed-

We went to see the sunset.  I was under the impression we would see the sunset behind a temple but no.  It was pretty easy to tell from early on that there wasn’t going to be a sunset-

so hundreds of people left disappointed.  

I couldn’t wait to get home!  I was very tired, sweaty, hot and dusty.  I had a shower and will try to sleep before 9 because my alarm is set for 3:30 as we are going to watch the sun rise at Angkor Wat.