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| Cambodia - Kingdom of Wonder |
Happy Khmer New Year! សួស្ដីឆ្នាំថ្មី 🎉
Just as various Indian ethnicities are celebrating their respective new years around mid-April, some of the Indianised nations in South East Asia are also celebrating their new years now - in Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos. It shows how close we are culturally with each other despite being different ethnically.
In conjunction with this Cambodian New Year 2024, I'd like to share a special post on the top 5 must-visit ancient temples in Cambodia, particularly around Siem Reap. This blog post was inspired by my trip to Cambodia with a group of friends back in 2018. I know this is 6 years too late 😂, but why not? It was an awe-inspiring trip to the Kingdom of Wonder, and I wish to share these memories (and photos) with the world while I still have them.
This will be more of a photo-sharing blog with tons of photos taken by myself around these temples. I am by no means a professional photographer or photo editor; just an ordinary traveler who wanted to share these, with the hope that this post will inspire more people to travel to Cambodia to see these architectural marvels with their own eyes. I dare say that Cambodia is definitely one of the top 10 destinations which one must visit in their lifetime!
Without further ado, let the countdown begin!
#5: Baphuon
History: Built in 11th century CE during the reign of King Udayadityavarman II. Originally dedicated to Lord Shiva, and later converted to a Theravada Buddhist temple.
Geography: Located within the Angkor Thom complex. Approximately 9 - 10 kilometres away from Siem Reap airport (15 - 20 minutes drive).
What's Special:
Baphuon is a temple mountain, made up of a temple located on a massive pyramid-shaped artificial hill. The pyramidal shape of this temple represents Mount Meru, an important aspect of Hindu and Buddhist mythology and cosmology.
To be honest, it could be quite tiring to walk up all the way to the top of this temple. However, once you reach the top, you might forget all the tiredness as it offers a spectacular view of the surrounding area, especially a strategic view of the Bayon temple nearby. Furthermore, there is a serene-looking reclining Buddha statue at the second tier of this pyramid. So, go for it!
To reach the temple, you will walk along an elevated sandstone walkway which stretches more than 200 metres - nice place to take a hyperlapse video 🎥
Best Time to Visit: Early morning 🌄
#4: Prasat Bakong
History: Built during the 9th century CE during the reign of King Indravarman I. Served as the official state temple in the ancient capital city of Hariharalaya, dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Geography: Located within the Roluos complex (previously known as Hariharalaya). Approximately 25 - 30 kilometres away from Siem Reap airport (45 minutes drive). You may go on a half-day trip to visit this temple as well as other temples within the Roluos complex - Lolei and Preah Ko - or make it a full day trip by going boating at the renown Tonle Sap lake from the nearby villages.
What's Special:
Bakong temple is a sandstone temple in the shape of a stepped pyramid, quite similar to the structure of Borobudur in Java, Indonesia. The five levels of the temple are believed to represent the five worlds: namely the worlds of the Nagas, the Garudas, the humans, the Asuras, and the Devas.
This temple complex spans a vast area - more than 6 million square feet! 😱 Within this area, two ancient moats - inner and outer - used to serve as borders between three enclosures of buildings. While the pyramid itself forms the inner enclosure, it is surrounded by the remains of eight brick towers.
The central tower of this pyramid-shaped temple, which enshrines a Shiva linga called Indreshvara, provides a magnificent view as you climb up. You will be greeted by a friendly-looking statue of nandi, the sacred bull, which is located at the bottom of each set of stairs, while there are statues of elephants and lions along the way up.
I was absolutely spellbound with the view as I ascended the temple, especially how majestic it looked with the sun right on top of it. We spent a lot of time clicking away around this photogenic temple, and we were grateful that the weather allowed us to get the best shots.
Best Time to Visit: Late morning (when the sun is at the top) 🌇
#3: Ta Prohm
History: Built during the 12th century CE during the reign of King Jayavarman VII as a tribute to his mother. Originally known as Rajavihara (Monastery of the King), it served as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university, which used to house more than 12,000 people! 😱
Geography: Located at the heart of the Angkor Park, east to Angkor Thom. Approximately 10 - 15 kilometres away from Siem Reap airport (20 - 30 minutes drive).
What's Special:
Ta Prohm was built in the Bayon style, which is quite obvious from the familiar gigantic faces mounted on each entrance to the site. Not knowing about this site beforehand, I assumed that it would just be a regular minor temple outside the Bayon temple which we visited earlier, but I was amazed by the sight of the gigantic roots which had engulfed some parts of the temple.
When it was first discovered by archaeologists, Ta Prohm was already heavily reclaimed by nature in every way. Though many other temples in the area also faced the same fate, nothing came close to the level of Ta Prohm. In fact, archaeologists decided to leave this temple much in its natural state, due to the aesthetic value provided by the spectacular sight of gigantic trees which have "swallowed" the ruins of this ancient monastery. Indeed, what a beauty it is!
This site gained more exposure among travelers once it was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. However, the site became extremely popular after it was depicted in the movie "Lara Croft: Tom Raider", which was released in 2001. So much so that the temple is also known as the "Tomb Raider temple" among tourists nowadays.
There are not many well-preserved bas-reliefs available at Ta Prohm due to the extensive "reclamation" process by nature. However, there are some popular ones available, such as one which looks like a stegosaurus!
Best Time to Visit: Early morning (to avoid the crowd)
To be continued in Part 2...
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