Since we took our lunch earlier than planned, we decided to go directly to the famous temple of Ta Prohm to elude the big tourist buses and the group tours that come with it.
Ta Prohm -- is one of the most popular temples in Angkor. It is well known for the giant tree roots that break through the temples, and it is the best example of how nature claims back its property. Some shots from the movie Tomb Raider were taken here.
Bantay Kdei -- The temple complex south of Ta Prohm was single story complex also left in its current unrestored state. Its walls are adorned with beautiful apsara carvings. The structure has a massive central hallway and a maze of of parallel small hallways running though it.
Thommanon - A little temple structure built at the same time as Angkor Wat.
Ta Keo - They say that Ta Keo is probably the first temple made completely of sandstone. Its claim to fame comes from the fact that its towers are not decorated by carvings. Apparently the temple structure was not completed because while under construction a lighting struck the temple. They thought it was a bad omen and left the temple as it is. We were really tired at this point so we just took pictures outside and went on to the next temple on our list.
West gate of Angkor Thom
East Gate - This is a remote gate south of the more famous Victory Gate... To get there, you have to pass a dirt road in between centuries-old trees. According to Horn (tuktuk driver) it was also his first time to reach that place. It was just a gate leading to nowhere. We only had a short stay to take some pictures as the mosquitoes seemed ecstatic to see people in the area.
Last stop today was sunset at the famous Angkor Wat. While waiting for the sunset, I couldn't find my Nikon ML-L3 remote. Since we were taking images of Angkor the whole day, Angkor was oddly taking something from us as well.
Dinner again was at the alley behind Pub Street. This alley is really packed full during evenings for dinner when the hungry crowds return from a day of temple hopping. We ate at a restaurant called Khmer BBQ, which was beside Khmer Kitchen, where we ate the night before.
Khmer Barbecue
Spring Rolls
As always the fresh spring rolls were delicious and although the barbecue was tasty, it was quite tough for our liking. We also had another order of Chicken amok by the way, we just forgot to take a picture of it.
And of course a bottle of Angkor Beer to complete the day!
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