Cambodia

In addition to visiting Angkor Wat in Siem Riep, we visited the ruins of three other temples - Ta Prohm, Bayon and Banteay Srie.

Ta Prohm is the modern name of a temple at that is part of the Angkor temple ruins complex.  It was built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries.  Ta Prohm was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Buddhist monastery and university. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings.  UNESCO inscribed Ta Prohm on the World Heritage List in 1992.

Bayon Temple is a well known and richly decorated Khmer temple at Angkor. It was built in the late 12th century or early 13th. It was modified and augmented by later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their own religious preferences.  Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and massive stone faces on the many towers that jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak.

Banteay Srei is a 10th century Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.  Banteay Srei is built largely of red sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings which are still observable today. The buildings themselves are miniature in scale, unusually so when measured by the standards of Angkorian construction. These factors have made the temple extremely popular with tourists, and have led to its being widely praised as a "precious gem", or the "jewel of Khmer art."

Most interesting among the four temples visited was how different they really are.  Each has its own character, charm and beauty.

It should be noted that we hired two buddhist monks to come with us to Bayon.  They made a striking addition to this wonderful temple.