Morning moment of peace and fishing in a pond

This little pond near Kror Sang Rolerng village is surrounded by rice paddocks on three sides. The local school and road to Wat Athvear is on the fourth.

Wat Athvear is both an active monastery and an old, small temple build in early Bayon style. Like Preah Enkosei on the north side of Siem Reap City, this temple from the Khmer Imperial era is one of the closest temples to Siem Reap city proper.

This is a nice spot to see a compact version of a temple between 2 main eras of Khmer imperial architecture. Normally it is very peaceful to visit Wat Athvear.

#citylife #countryside #biking #bikingintheangkorhinterland #watathvear #temple #fishing #sunrise #kingdomofwonder #Cambodia #siemreap #visitsiemreap #visitcambodia #Angkoroffthebeatentrack #AOTBT #KrorSangRolerngvillage #phnomkraom #phnomkrom #rice #ricefield #ricepaddock #2022CE

Pointing out a treasure at mysterious West Prasat Top

Exploring Angkor Park is best in the early hours of the day. The temperature is pleasant, and the light is playful and challenging.

This little temple is one of the hidden treasures near the beaten track. But atill several hundred meters off it, by bike or walk.

This morning the sun pointed out a spot to the northeast. I did not find gold, but the remain of an old guardian statue.
A good start for a peaceful visit and some reflections on this small spot in ancient times.

Small mystery
West Prasat Top is in the area where you find several larger temples like Ta Keo, Ta Nei and Ta Prohm. They are all on the east side of Siem Reap River, a couple of kilometres away from the Victory Gate and Angkor Thom. It is close to Don Mao, another small temple near one of the old East Baray docks.

But the current single tower is of post Bayon style. Meaning it was built sometimes after 1200. And the stones used to build this temple may have been reused from older structures.

This is a mysterious temple not only for confusions regarding its origin. Some of the information about this temple mixes it up with the West Top Temple in Angkor Thom.

West Prasat Top’s tower was built on a laterite platform. The pink-sandstone columns and lintels contain some decorations from the 1100s. There are visible remains of stairs leading up to the temple both to the east and west. Parts of an enclosing wall are still there, and more fragments of statues and other carvings.

The tower itself was overgrown when I visited, but recently excavations and renovations has cleared it and cleaned it, and West Prasat Top is pretty in pink today.

#angkor #AOTBT #offthebeatentrack #colours #green #buddhism #angkorthom #1200CE 🎶🎶 #bikingintheangwonderland 🎶🎶 #temple #Park #visitsiemreap #visitcambodia #kingdomofwonder #architecture #art #KhmerEmpire #imperial #greentourism #angkorwat #siemreap #southeastasia #worldculturalheritage

The last Hindu temple built in the greatest Buddhist kings’ capital

That time a hidden temple revealed itself in green season livery. A misty morning at East Top Temple, Angkor Thom.
Prasat Top Khang Kaeut (Eastern Prasat Top), ប្រាសាទតុប ខាងកើត or Mangalartha temple is a small Hindu temple with several images of the God Vishnu. The temple is mostly unvisited and very peaceful.

Green temple
The vegetation has taken over most of the surroundings. That makes for some stunning photo opportunities. During or just after green season this gets extraordinary, with deep, green moss and fresh green all around this temple.

Top Khang Kaeut was built during the reign of Jayavarman VII, the great Buddhist god king, and was initiated in 1295CE. It was built in honour of Mangalartha, a son of a Hindu Brahmin priest/guru kept in high regard by the god king. That gives a glimpse into the religious tolerance and structures in the Khmer Empire.

Small temple, large importance
This is the last significant Hindu Temple built in the Khmer Empire before the major change to Buddhism as State religion. It was built during the era of the most powerful of the Buddhist kings of Angkor. It is the last temple built in the high Angkor time frame with a definitive known initiating date.

The “Hidden Temple”-name is because anyone who wants to explore this small temple and site needs to actively go looking for it. It is not on any of the ordinary visiting trips in Angkor Park. If not biking, the visitor needs to walk some hundred meters into the thick forest. Tuk Tuks or cars cannot drive there.

It is a nice 12 km ride from central Siem Reap.

https://drzinasia.wordpress.com/2024/05/15/the-secret-temple-in-angkor-thom/

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Visit to an impressing off the main track citadel temple

Banteay Thom, the big (Thom) Citadel (Banteay), is 10 km north of Angkor Wat and 15 km out Siem Reap City limits. It is accessible by motorbike or a proper bike only.

This temple was built during the rule of Jayavarman VII "the Great" in early 1200s CE. There is one main entrance to the east, and a gate blockaded by debris to the west. Remains of a moat surrounds the old temple.

As a temple built by a mighty god king, it is of stately qualities including some very advanced arts and stone carvings.
After the anteroom and Gopuras, the main three towers are of impressive sizes. But in some need of restoration.

Being outside the main Angkor Park area, there is no need for an Angkor temple pass to visit. It is a truly quiet place with spots and details to study closely, without the queueing and crowds in the more famous temple from JVIIs reign.
Unfortunately, its solitude location means that the temple has been a target for looting into quite recent times.

Banteay Thom is surrounded by rice fields. Visiting during harvest season means meeting and surprise a lot of locals tending to their fields. Including the field where the young Khmer works, where you can listen to the latest in Khmer pop music.

That is not a bad thing. Kh-pop is patent, modern pop worth listen to. And makes a nice cultural contrast to the old Archaeological structure.

#angkor #siemreap #visitsiemreap #cambodia #offthebeatentrack #kingdomofwonder #angkortemples 🎶🎶 #bikingintheangkorwonderland 🎶🎶 #AOTBT #offthebeatentrack #Banteay #thom #Banteaythom #bike #rice #ricefield #dirttrack #backcountry #greentourism #Jayavarman #VII #JVII #J7 #Angkor #Thom #1250CE

The little village temple in 890s Hariharalaya

An early morning visit to the very old Prasat Trapeang Kaek ប្រាសាទត្រពាំងក្អែក with two oxen.

Prasat Trapeang Kaek, or O Ka-aek temple, is a single tower temple built in Hariharalaya. This was the second capital of Angkor Empire. O Ka-Aek was built 50 years before the capital was moved to the area near Angkor Thom.

O Ka-aek is part of the standalone temples in Roluos group. Probably it was built as a village temple. It is situated close to the old main dirt roads leading into the southern part of modern Siem Reap.

O Ka-aek is appx two kilometre west for Bakong Temple, the first large temple built in mountain style in the Khmer Empire.

Peace on the main old road
Since it is off track modern roads, O Ka-aek is rather peaceful and gives a chance to look closely on early architecture and art in the Angkor Empire. Even if the walls mostly have caved in, there are surprisingly well-kept stone art in the remaining structure. The north and south permanently closed gates have amazingly detailed carvings still.

The single tower temple is built in old Khmer Hindu style closely resemble development from the older Chenla style.
It is also on a nice green spot, meaning that the locals let animals graze around it. Two oxen were doing this on my visit, stopping only to study me study the O Ka-aek temple.

Getting here is easy by any vehicle or bike. It is a nice 18 km bike ride one way from Siem Reap. As the old road is gravel mostly, a mountain/terrain bike is advisable.

https://drzinasia.wordpress.com/2024/11/10/a-green-small-spot-at-prasat-trapeang-kaek/

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Inside this great collection of green is the remains of one of the oldest temples in Angkor Park

A colourful memory from that time I had lunch near Prasat Kôk Svay Pream. I had visited four temples in old Hariharalaya/Roluos group covering 400 years of architecture. Finally found this well covered, very old pre-Khmer empire temple site.

Nearly a 100 year older than Khmer Empire
Prasat Kôk Svay Pream, ប្រាសាទគោកស្វាយព្រាហ្មណ៍ in Khmer, is mostly covered by vegetation.

Only some small remains of a brick wall, an entrance gate and a lingam basin are relatively easy to be found. In front there of this is an entrance platform facing eastwards. The thick growth of green trees, palms and thick foliage including thorn bushes covers the rest of the site. It looks like it has been a moat of sort around the elevated area where this temple remains are.

When Prasat Kôk Svay Pream first was rediscovered, three lintels where found. They show the bridging of architecture and design from Sambor Prei Kouk of Chenla kingdom to Prei Khmeng and Kulen of early Khmer during the 700s CE.

The Chenla kingdom was the last Khmer kingdom before the Khmer empire was declared in 802 CE. Its capital was near Kampong Thom.

It is a nice and peaceful place, and not a lot of visitors. Or locals. Some friendly cows, though. Always lovely with something bovine out in the countryside.

https://drzinasia.wordpress.com/2024/09/20/lunch-at-prasat-kok-svay-pream/

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A quiet morning at the hospital temple Prei Prasat Ta Oun Temple

This is one of those temples that literally is off the beaten track. The only access is via a narrow bike trail, on the side of farmland with grazing cows. The trail gets very muddy in green season.
Localised well north of Angkor Thom, this temple was built in late 12th century. It is one of the over 100 hospital temples built during the reign of the great Khmer king Jayavarman VII. More known for his state temple Bayon with what is considered his portrait being repeated all over its façade.

Hospital temples were temples connected to a nearby public hospital. It was used for prayer, rites, offerings and probably as part of the therapy. It was an early example of public healthcare system built in scale. It shows how advanced and rich the Angkor empire was at its peak 450 years into its existence.

Compact and peaceful
It is not a large site, but it is one of the best kept examples of these hospital-temples built in Bayon style. Even the moat surrounding Ta Oun is in relatively good order. But it dries up during the hot season.

There are remains of a Gopura and a Library to the east of the main temple, and a smaller gate to the west. There are no remains of the hospital itself.

It is worth a visit not only for the insights into an important part of Khmer imperial history. Ta Oun is well off the main visitor’s area, is peaceful and often without any other visitors.

https://drzinasia.wordpress.com/2025/02/16/ta-oun-temple/

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Sunrise greeting at the first grand temple of the Khmer Empire

Mornings are the most pleasant time to visit Bakong Temple. The large stone temple gets very hot later in the day.
Bakong was the first mountain type of temple architecture design in the Khmer imperial era. It served as a state temple for king Indravarman I, in the first dedicated Khmer imperial capital at Hariharalaya.
Today this is the Roluos Group of temples east of Siem Reap City, Cambodia. Other well-known temples here is Preah Koh and Lolei.

Large Hindu influence
The temple was dedicated to Shiva, and its main consecrated image was a lingam called Sri Indresvara. This step pyramid mountain temple draws inspiration from other large Hindu temples in the region built around the same time. Most notably the fantastic Borobudur temple in Java, outside Yogyakarta.
Bakong temple was the last large construction in Hariharalaya. Indravarman’s son and heir Yasovarman I moved the capital to Phnom Bakheng in the early 900s. Bakheng Hill is just south of what we today call Angkor Thom, the big (capital) city.

For those interested in comparative historical timeline, this temple was finished as a state temple in 881CE. In Norway, the first unification of the kingdom under one superior king established the first larger Nordic kingdom.

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