Banteay Srei
“Citadel of the Women” – 967 AD
An interesting and pleasant drive out of town, through dusty but very neat suburban streets and then venturing through the Cambodian countryside, you eventually arrive at the dainty, pink temple of Banteay Srei.
Its actual name is ‘Tribhuvanamahesvara’ – ‘Great Lord of the Threefold World’. Make of that what you will.
Very small and very pretty, Banteay Srei is celebrated for its exceptional carvings and is known as the ‘Jewel of Khmer Art’. Discovered again in 1914 and restored between 1931 and 1936, there is an information centre here that explains the various building techniques used and also on display are fascinating historical photographs of the temple ruins before its resurrection.
A charming temple, it is known for its unique beauty and is therefore popular with tourists; however, it can be quite serene at the right moment. Lovely reflective views over the inner moat and monks wandering around, even being snap-happy themselves, lends to the calm but joyous atmosphere of this beautiful little place.
Also, if you ever want to find a ‘four–leaf clover‘, or at least something that resembles one, this is the place to find them, a whole pond full within the grounds of Banteay Srei. Good luck!
Banteay Samre
“Citadel of the Samre (mountain people)” – Early 12th century
This is one of those lovely temples that has a definite aura about it, and it became another favourite because of this.
Thanks to its impressive and thorough restoration, Banteay Samre is one of the most complete temple complexes in the area. The unique feature of Banteay Samre was its internal moat which, when filled with water, must have created an otherworldly atmosphere.
A visit to this temple is quiet and reflective, and due to it being off the main circuit, it has few visitors.
The fortune-teller in the Central Sanctuary will perform a captivating and quite lengthy chant, before briefly breaking out in English to tell you that you will live to be 120 years old. Following this, he will guide you in performing an offering to the shrine, a beautiful thing to experience. He will then lend you a torch to discover the rubble inside the dark cavern beyond, which is the heart of the sanctuary – and you can have this whole experience with him for a dollar.
Chau Srei Vibol
Early 11th century
Off the beaten track and seldom visited by tourists, Chau Srei Vibol also has an active pagoda (Wat Trach) just outside the old temple ruins on top of Trach hill. A sanctuary and two libraries can be found within the ruins, and there are other buildings in various states of ruin around the complex.
Arriving here was an exciting surprise, because of it not being on general itineraries. Only once had I ever even seen it marked on a map and so didn’t expect to see it at all.
By the end of the visit, the only other people that we saw were a group of local women sweeping the nearby dirt trail with their twig brooms, smiling and waving.
Earlier, however, after a brief exploration of part of the ruins, some young monks were spotted climbing the trees and then gladly posed for what became one of the favourite images from the trip.
Beng Mealea
“Lotus Pond” – Early 12th century
Uncleared and totally chaotic, Beng Mealea is a dream come true for those who love the thought of clambering over huge stone blocks, pretending that they are an explorer in a great adventure movie.
Its history is completely unknown, and it has been left as it was when it was discovered. The thrill of climbing through small spaces and along rooftops in this wild, overgrown temple is a highlight of a visit to the Angkor area.
Being further away from the main temple area means that it is relatively quiet, visitor wise and the chatter of parrots and jungle noises fills the air as you climb over, under, around and through.
There is an urge to be dressed in a safari suit and pith helmet. And it’s true; you can be Indiana Jones for a day.
Most definitely in my top three of Angkor experiences.
(Note: I discovered on my second visit a few years later that you can no longer clamber through the ruins as we did. There is now an elevated walkway leading through the complex)
Koh Ker
“Island of Glory” – Capital of the empire from 928 – 944 AD
A distant forest location 130 kilometres out of town, the remote temple group of Koh Ker is a minor mission to reach. Only since 2004 has it been easily accessible to visitors, as it now has a new dirt road leading out from Beng Mealea. Visitor numbers are quite small, and you can almost have the whole place to yourself, along with the odd local dog.
There are temples still being found out in the forest, but a convenient loop road will take you around the main group, enough to keep you going for quite a few hours. There are 42 major temples in the area, and most have been cleared of land mines, but the areas outside of them have not, so the danger signs are a grim reality and any thoughts of wandering too far off the beaten track are not to be entertained.
The main attraction, Prasat Thom is a seven-step pyramid approximately 40 metres high, but unfortunately, there is no access to the top, as the wooden ladder is now missing more than half of its rungs. All of the temple sights in the area are different, from the pyramid to the linga (phallic/fertility) shrines, riverside rock carvings and a variety of Prasats.
Lack of restoration work and archaeological studies (the Khmer Rouge destroyed any existing studies) make the Koh Ker temples some of the most enigmatic in Cambodia. For that reason, the most adventurous travellers will experience a sense of what the 19th-century explorers felt when they first encountered the temples of Angkor.
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