This is the big terrace opposite Banteay Kdei at the artificial lake. The lake is surrounded by stone steps, making it easy for everyone to get to the water and dangle their feet in.
Sras Srang Lake
Just a short excerpt to give you an idea what I heard at several temples.
Banteay Kdei Temple
Medium-sized temple with gates and a long terrace. Some trees are spreading impressive roots. Several beautiful bas relief carvings of asparas (dancers).
Khmer Food 2
A word of warning – if you are allergic to peanuts you might want to bring lots of EpiPens to Cambodia. Almost every dish had peanuts in it.
Eaten at Palm Village Resort & Spa, Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Prasat Kravan
I am doing the red route today. See partial map below.
The sun was glaring down when I finally reached this temple. I had quite a long way to cycle around Angkor Wat (8 km) to get to this small 10th-century temple. I really liked the reddish brick.
Kravan is located south of the artificial lake called Srah Srang.
Theam’s Gallery
To break up my excessive temple cycling tours I visited this gallery just around the corner from my resort.
Expecting lots of paintings I was pleasantly surprised to find something like a small artisan village. What a gem!
This is what’s hidden behind: a selection of beautifully decorated rooms, houses, courtyards, lots of colour, interesting style mixes, tranquil gardens, ponds, lots of inviting seats, cute cats, miniature houses, a café, artisan workshop, art work, wooden buddhas, a display of traditional musical instruments, displays about silk, peppered with striking paintings from Theam himself.
This is the home, atelier and gallery of Master Cambodian Artist, Lim Muy Theam. His parents fled during the Khmer Rouge regime to France. Theam received artistic and technical education in Paris. Eventually he returned to Cambodia to help rebuild the country after decades of crippling war.
He researched traditional Khmer craftsmanship, and started teaching teams of apprentices from the countryside how to use them to create art out of time-honored materials like wood, lacquer, silk, and cotton. Skilled art trainees work in his gallery under Theam’s personal tutelage whose main objective is the teaching as well as advocating the value of authenticity and quality, featuring strong cultural and artistic Khmer identity with distinctly modern creative edge.
I spent close to two hours wandering around, sitting down, soaking up the artistic flair, cuddling cats, sipping a coconut, getting moved by the fear and pain in Theam’s portraits, trying to figure out how I could possibly move in without people noticing…
What an enchanting place. A must visit in Siem Reap.
Read more about Theam and his journey here: https://theamsgallery.com/about-theam/
Water Buffalos
I felt a little bit vulnerable so close to them on my bicycle. They were just two steps away but not even my screeching brakes made them look up.
…and all I could think off was: tomato and mozzarella salad, oh yum, but just not local cuisine 🙁
Khmer Starters
Eaten at Palm Village Resort & Spa, Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Monkey Business
They draw crowds, that’s for sure. The monkeys of Bayon. You spot a tripod, you spot a monkey.
The monkeys have an easy life. They get fed fresh fruit every day by tourists and photographers. I heard stories that they try to pick pockets, the monkeys, not the photographers.
Bayon North Gate
Pretty much like the South Gate but less impressive or intact decorations in front. And it being North-facing there is more moss. The moat is also pretty overgrown.
I still love it for its style and faces.
This is the view when entering Angkor Thom.