We saw lots of temples on our first day in Angkor and we were worried that we'd be ''templed out" and not enjoy a second day of touring temples. We were wrong. We enjoyed the temples on day 2 just as much (and maybe a bit more) than the temples on day 1.
The first temple of the day was Banteay Srei. It's 1,100 years old. The temple is built from hard red sandstone which can be carved like wood. The builders took advantage of this and covered the walls of the temple with intricate carvings.
Pre Rup is the oldest temple we visited in Angkor. It's over 1,100 years old. The architecture wasn't as amazing as we'd seen in other temples but the view at the top was worth the climb.
Last but not least is the temple called Ta Prohm. The temple is unique because of the enormous trees growing amongst and through the temple buildings.
Ta Prohm, like all Angkor temples, was abandoned when the Khmer Empire fell in the 15th century. The jungle moved in and grew over all of the temples until restoration work began 100 years ago. Trees were cleared from all the temples except Ta Prohm because it was so well merged with the jungle.
Here are a few other photos from our second day in Cambodia.
We have a little more to share from Cambodia. Not to worry if you're feeling "templed out" - there won't be any temples in the next post.
Vanessa and Blake
The first temple of the day was Banteay Srei. It's 1,100 years old. The temple is built from hard red sandstone which can be carved like wood. The builders took advantage of this and covered the walls of the temple with intricate carvings.
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| Banteay Srei - a small temple compared to other Angkor temples |
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| Us at one of the outer doorways |
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| Each doorway has detailed carvings above it |
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| Close-up of the carvings |
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| Carvings above the entry into the temple |
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| Us with the inner temple buildings |
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| The entry to each building has two guards |
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| Detailed carvings on the inner temple buildings |
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| Another close-up look |
Pre Rup is the oldest temple we visited in Angkor. It's over 1,100 years old. The architecture wasn't as amazing as we'd seen in other temples but the view at the top was worth the climb.
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| The temple |
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| The very steep climb to the top |
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| Looking up at the sky inside one of the temple's towers |
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| Vanessa taking the previous photo - she'll go anywhere to get a good shot! |
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| View from the top of the temple overlooking Angkor |
Last but not least is the temple called Ta Prohm. The temple is unique because of the enormous trees growing amongst and through the temple buildings.
Ta Prohm, like all Angkor temples, was abandoned when the Khmer Empire fell in the 15th century. The jungle moved in and grew over all of the temples until restoration work began 100 years ago. Trees were cleared from all the temples except Ta Prohm because it was so well merged with the jungle.
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| The entrance to the temple |
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| One of the silk-cotton trees overgrowing the temple |
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| Us in front of the roots so you can see how big they are |
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| The temple was featured in the movie "Tomb Raider" starring Angelina Jolie |
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| Tree roots grow down and sideways across the buildings |
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| Some restoration work is being done |
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| Tree roots and buildings are woven together and are holding each other up |
Here are a few other photos from our second day in Cambodia.
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| Our driver, guide and the tuk tuk that we took to the temples |
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| Houses in the country are on stilts because of flooding |
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| Sugar from palm trees is boiled and made into very sweet candies |
We have a little more to share from Cambodia. Not to worry if you're feeling "templed out" - there won't be any temples in the next post.
Vanessa and Blake
