A Grand Circuit Tour

Seeing Angkor Wat was really an incredible experience. The small circuit was overwhelming. We were only in Cambodia for two days but it already felt as if we were there for already a month because of the many temples we were able to visit. Some temples might just look like the same but there are those temples that is really different from others.

On our third day in Cambodia our itinerary includes sunrise viewing in Angkor Wat, elephant ride in Bayon and a tour of the Grand Circuit temple.

We have to wake up at 4AM for us to make it on time to see the sunrise in Angkor Wat. We have informed our hotel the day before so they were able to prepare packed breakfast that we will bring and they have coordinated our itinerary with our tuktuk driver.

The time of sunrise depends on the season or time of the year. It is always best to ask the locals about it. Unfortunately for us even though it is dry season in Cambodia there were rains because of climate change. It rained the previous night making it a gloomy morning. The raising sun is covered by gray clouds making a pink to purple color of the sky. You will be surprised that there are a lot of tourists willing to wake up early morning just to see this view.

After seeing the sunrise in Angkor Wat we went to Bayon temple to wait for our elephant ride. We also took this time to have our breakfast and take some rest. The elephant ride opens at 8AM. It costs $20.00 per person for one ride. The elephant took us around the Bayon temple and many tourists took pictures of the elephant while we are riding it.

We headed to do the Grand Circuit tour after our elephant ride. Our first stop was at Preah Khan however i wasn't able to enter the temple because I lost my Angkor Pass. Our tuktuk driver have left us and went to the North Gate of the temple. I told my friends that they can go without me and I'll just wait for them. I went in the East Gate where I waited for my friends. I was able to talk to the guard on the gate and he was able to tell me some historical information about the temple. I can say we had a very good conversation and it was nice to talk to somebody while waiting.

After Preah Khan, we went to buy a one day Angkor Pass so that I can enter the temples. It took us thirty minutes to buy the ticket and get back to the temple ground. 

Our next temple was Pre Rup. At Pre Rup we were not only amazed by the temple but also of a phenomenon. Since there were some drizzles in the morning, it formed a sun halo. I was curious of what the tourist are looking at the sky so I look up and see the sun halo. The sun halo lasted for some twenty to thirty minutes.

Pre Rup means "turn the body". There is a common belief among Cambodians that funerals were conducted at the temple, with the ashes of the body being ritually rotated in different directions as the funeral service progressed.

East Mebon is a 19th century temple in Angkor. It is very distinctive for its two-meter-high free-standing stone guardian elephant. The temple was dedicated for the Hindu God Shiva and it honors the parent of the king. 

 After East Mebon we went to Ta Som. Ta Som is just a small temple so it is just easy to navigate around it. The temple is in ruins and trees and other vegetation are growing in its ruins. In 1998 the World Monument Fund added Ta Som as part of their restoration program.

Ta Som is surrounded by moat and enclosed by three laterite walls which are broken by two sets of gopura or entrance ways. The last gopura has a huge fig tree growing in it. It is located at the far end of the temple. There was a sketch artist when we went to Ta Som and he was doing a sketch of the gopura with the fig tree.

Our last temple for the Grand Circuit is Neak Pean. This is a very distinctive temple because it is surrounded by water. 

 Neak Pean is a Buddhist temple in an artificial island. The temple was originally designed for medical purpose. Visitors cannot get near the temple as it is enclosed by a fence. There were come locals cleaning the pond surrounding the temple on or visit.

That is the end of our temple tour. The Grand Circuit tour is less exhausting compared to the Small Circuit tour. You may do the Grand Circuit after a visit to Angkor Wat because there are lesser temple in this circuit.

Going Around Siem Reap Small Circuit Temples

After a half-day tour of Angkor Wat, we asked our tuktuk driver to take us to a place where we can have our lunch. The second-half of our day is visiting the temples which is part of the Small Circuit. Usually the Small Circuit tour will start in the Bayon Temple but since we decided to have our lunch first we will do the tour in reverse order.

The first temple we visited that is part of the Small Circuit is Banteay Kdei. Banteay Kdei means a "A Citadel of Chambers". 

There are some stalls of paintings once you entered Banteay Kdei. The paintings differ in sizes. The paintings are usually about Angkor Wat or the other temples in Cambodia like the Bayon Temple.

 A Buddha is placed in the entrance of the whole structure. Many Buddhist temples were built, including the Banteay Kdei, from middle of the 12th century to early 13th century.

 Main attraction of Banteay Kdei is the large tree which located at the back. Below are some of the pictures of Banteay Kdei.

Just like Angkor Wat, Banteay Kdei has a lot of carvings. It is common to see Apsaras Devata carvings in the columns of the temple. 

Restorations are being done for the temple. A project in 2004 by the University of California and Sophia University of Tokyo in partnership with the non-profit group Cyark was done. Laser scans of Banteay Kdei and and Angkor Wat Causeway were performed.

Located in the east side of Banteay Kdei is Srah Srang or "the royal bathing pool". The approaching steps to the water edge are flanked by two stone statues of lions with ornamented Naga balustrades. The rain already poured in so we were unable to take a picture of the lake.

Our next temple is Ta Phrom. Aside from its large trees with their roots sprawling over the temple, Ta Phrom became more famous after Angelina Jolie's Tomb Raider was done there.

Ta Phrom was a Buddhist temple. Ta Phrom was originally known as Rajavihara or the Monastery of the King. During that time, almost 80,000 people were required to maintain the temple.

Ta Phrom is one of the temples with many visitors and places of interest gets easily crowded. On-going restoration is being done when we visited the temple.

The next temple in the Small Circuit we went to is not for a person afraid of heights with open spaces. Known as the temple mountain is Ta Keo. The steps in Ta Keo are very steep making it hard to reach the top. The temple was never completed and restoration to preserve the temple is being done.

This is a glimpse of the interior of the temple. You can see the forest surrounding the temple when you are on the top.

Thommanon and Chau Say Tevada are small temples situated across each other. It was a break from all the large temples that we have explored. We only spent little time exploring these temples.

Thommanon

Thommanon

Chau Say Tevada

Chau Say Tevada

Another large temple that we visit is the Bayon temple. Bayon temple is famous for the stone face in its temples. There are 216 gigantic faces on the temple's towers.

Bayon was built around 1190 AD by King Jayavarman II. They say that that smiling faces of the temple is a portrait of King Jayavarman. Bayon is a Buddhist temple. At the entrance of the temple is a huge buddha. After the death of Jayavarman II, King Jayavarman III turned the temple to Hindu.

Bayon is the largest temple complex among the temples of Small Circuit. It might be quite exhausting just looking on how big the temple is.

Near the Bayon temple is Baphuon. Baphuon is a three-tiered temple located northwest of Bayon. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva. Most of the part of the temple has collapsed and restoration is still ongoing. Rubble of the temple can be seen on the entrance.

On the way back to our hotel, we saw the Terrace of the Elephant. It is part of the walled city of Angkor Thom. The Terrace of the Elephant now lay in ruins. It was used before by King Jayavarman II to view his returning army.

We still don't want to leave the place yet but it was almost 5PM and temple visits ends at this time. It was also already raining that time.

This is the second day of out Siem Reap tour which is mainly about Angkor Wat and the Small Cicuit temples.