Friday- last day of viewing temples
The last 2 temples we planned to visit were quite far from the city-the first, Banteay Sarai was about 30 km out and featured a walled complex. One of the smallest temples of the Angkor complex, it featured stone with a pinkish tint and extremely intricate detail in the carvings. It is suggested that this probably means that it was actually designed by females rather than males!
Perhaps the most beautiful of all the temples, the site was quite crowded with tourists, despite the distance.
The next stop was Beng Melea a temple in complete ruin, some 48 km from the city Totally ruined might not even be enough to describe the massive blocks that seemed to have been thrown around by a giant tossing his LEGO set across the room. The damage was created, not by any giant but simply by nature. Seeds deposited on walls had lead to trees growing on top of structures, the root systems ultimately forcing the buildings apart.
A final stop, suggested by Mr Lim, took us to Preah Ko and Bakong, believed to be the earliest of the Khmer temples. The latter featured a three level platform surrounded by several pagodas under reconstruction. Elephant statues guarded the corners of each level and a final pagoda topped the structure.
On the return to town I noticed many vendors selling what appeared to be short bamboo sticks. When questioned Mr Lim pulled over to allow me a closer look. They were actually filled with a mixture of sticky rice, black beNs and coconut milk.. we purchased one and the vendor showed us howto peel back the bamboo, charred brown and black in spots after being cooked over charcoal to expose the sweet inner layer of rice. It provided a rather unusual but tasty snack as we returned to the city.
Perhaps the most beautiful of all the temples, the site was quite crowded with tourists, despite the distance.
A final stop, suggested by Mr Lim, took us to Preah Ko and Bakong, believed to be the earliest of the Khmer temples. The latter featured a three level platform surrounded by several pagodas under reconstruction. Elephant statues guarded the corners of each level and a final pagoda topped the structure.
On the return to town I noticed many vendors selling what appeared to be short bamboo sticks. When questioned Mr Lim pulled over to allow me a closer look. They were actually filled with a mixture of sticky rice, black beNs and coconut milk.. we purchased one and the vendor showed us howto peel back the bamboo, charred brown and black in spots after being cooked over charcoal to expose the sweet inner layer of rice. It provided a rather unusual but tasty snack as we returned to the city.
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