On our second tour day with Siem Reap's temples, we chose to take the Grand Tour Circuit. Having a tuktuk for whole day worth USD25, our tour started at around 9am and back at the guesthouse by past 6pm. On this day we experienced riding a tuktuk for two straight hours as the temples on this tour are about almost 50km from the town proper.
Kbai Spean
First stop was the farthest and the most tiresome - Kbai Spean. This is different from the others as you would trek 1500m up to the mountain to see the sculptures under the river...
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| you must love rocks on this trekking |
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| out in the forest! |
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| Buddha carvings on the natural rocks |
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| they say this part is for fertility worship |
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| the falls that they claim to be sacred as you bathe there |
Banteay Srei
About an hour travel from Kbai Spean we reached Banteay Srei. This, for me, has the most developed entrance and reception area with some bargain markets on the side for souvenirs and food. A three-tower temple with intricate carvings and miniature in size than the other temples.
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| the entrance to the main temple |
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| fascinating designs and carvings |
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| the three towers |
East Mebon
Another table mountain temple, this one is quite near to the Angkor Thom temples and the rest of the temples from the Short Circuit Tour. As for its distinctive characteristic, it has elephants on its four corners. Not much tourists go here by the way so it is quite peaceful exploring the temple ruins.
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| the temple from its outside |
Pre Rup
Only a few minutes away from East Mebon is this temple flocked by tourists during sunset. As per our tuktuk driver, this is the second most visited spot/temple for sunset viewing. We were there before 5pm and we haven't got the best spot anymore as a lot of tourists are already on the topmost are of the temple.
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| the front of the temple from atop |
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| I'm sitting this high, waiting for the sunset |
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| flocks of tourists going out of the temple |
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