Pre Rup Temple

I did the Grand Circuit of Angkor in a counter-clockwise direction so after a brief stop at Banteai Kdei where I said “Hi” to my new friends and had a coconut to keep my electrolyte levels high, I rode around Sras Srang moat and headed forward for a few kilometers until I came to the bend that turned the road from going east to going north and there, seemingly abandoned and lacking any form of attention from visitors stood the ruins of the Pre Rup Temple.

Photo: Water Buffalo Calf at pre Rup Temple, Angkor, Cambodia
Photo: Water Buffalo Calf at pre Rup Temple, Angkor, Cambodia

That Pre Rup gets no attention from visitors to Angkor Archaeological Park was evident right away from the fact that there were no actively operating touts. I found it strangely intriguing since Pre Rup is much larger and offers much more to see than many other temple ruins along the Grand Circuit, yet many of those other temples had stalls with souvenirs sold by the locals set up at their entrance gates – signifying that there must be traffic worthy of the effort going through this gate – but not at Pre Rup – again, signifying that the hassle of setting up the stalls and spending whole day there would not pay for itself as the temple simply did not attract any visitors. Worked for me – the less “competition” I have in form of other tourists getting in the view of my camera and the more peace I get in lack of pestering kids who aggressively follow you around and talk till your head explodes, the happier I am. Handling the breezeless heat of the sun at Angkor is difficult enough on its own so any chance to battle it without extra difficulties is an uplifting bonus…

The Only Pre Rup Tout

Still, when I reached Pre Rup, I was not alone. Little boy looking after his family’s water buffalo feeding off of a grassy plane surrounding Pre Rup became my company and even though all he could speak in English were two words, he instantly put them to use as soon as I made myself reachable: “One Dolla!” said the boy as his beaming big eyes twinkled with joy staring once at his stretched out palm and once at me. Since I took pictures of his water buffalo, he made me feel obliged to give him that dollar and kept following me around with his hand beg-stretched until I shelled out. That wasn’t necessarily a good idea as he felt encouraged and kept insisting on more. Giving a Cambodian a finger is a sure fire way to entice them into going after whole hand.

It was early morning yet and I had just started the day with Pre Rup as my first temple ahead of a whole slew of them scheduled to visit that day, but as was shown to me again – there is no supply of energy that can stand up to the power of the sun in Cambodia. I was dripping with sweat, whatever layer of sun block I had applied had long been washed away, my fabric hat looked like a rug pulled out of a sewage drain yet the day has just begun. Midday heat was still hours away so when I realized that the insanity I’m experiencing right now is in fact a mild morning, I instantly knew I was gonna have to grab at every opportunity to buy a coconut and a fresh bottle of water I would come across, if I were to make it. Plus of course there was this realization that I’m heat beat already and I didn’t even have to waste energy on battles with the touts. I did not look forward to what it was going to be like when the heat of the day reaches its peak and hoards of them vultures descend upon me to suck out every bit of life juice I may still have within. And with that, my money – of course.

Why Is Pre Rup So Rarely Visited?

While I was walking among the walls of Pre Rup, absorbing the heat these giant piles of stone radiate, I noticed several foreigners passing by in tuk tuks. Perhaps the demise of Pre Rup lays in the fact that the Grand Circuit road goes right by it and you only spot it in the last moment – especially if you’re in a tuk tuk or a taxi. Riding a bicycle comes with a major disadvantage of not being able to catch any breeze between the temples to have the sweat washed away, but since you move around slowly and don’t have to ask anyone to stop when you see something – not knowing yet whether it’s worth a stop or not – you get to see things people in tuk tuks don’t get to see. Pre Rup temple is one of them.

I can imagine the vast majority of tourists who passed by Pre Rup on a tuk tuk didn’t even notice it was there. They were too worn out from previous temples and were glad they were moving at a decent speed to catch some breeze to pay attention to some random pile of rocks alongside the road. And those who did notice the ruins were just too exhausted from the heat to even ask the tuk tuk driver what the heck it was they just passed by so they simply assumed it was nothing worthwhile and continued on until the tuk tuk driver stopped again. Don’t forget that Cambodia runs vastly on a commission based trade system. Tuk tuk drivers will not take you anywhere out of their own initiative unless there is a kick back in it for them. Regardless of how they present themselves to you, Cambodians never act helpful to help YOU – they are only interested in helping themselves. If what it takes is for them to paint with honey over your face, they will do it. If you can’t read between the lines (most people can’t), you will think Cambodians are the nicest, the most helpful people in the whole wild universe, even though behind your back, without you realizing, they are screwing you right in the arse with no lube.

Pre Rup Temple Mountain

Pre Rup is believed to be the last temple-mountain constructed by the Angkorian civilization. Nearby East Mebon was constructed following the same temple-mountain style but was built a few years prior. The construction works on Pre Rup temple commenced during the rule of Khmer king Rajendravarman II in 961 – after the capital city returned back to Angkor following its temporary move to Koh Ker between 921 and 944.

Photo: The Only Picture of Pre Rup Temple I Was Able to Save From My Formatted Card After Laptop Theft
Photo: The Only Picture of Pre Rup Temple I Was Able to Save From My Formatted Card After Laptop Theft

Scientists are still trying to figure out why Cambodians refer to Pre Rup as being a funerary temple given that none of the historical records suggest it being the case. The temple is known by its current name because that’s what modern day Cambodians call it as in their language it means “to turn the body”, which was a rite used during cremation.

Pre Rup is in a great state of ruin. Gopuras (entrance gates) can be found on each side of the outer enclosure, but it’s the best to take the one which has a dirt road leading to it from the main road. There isn’t much left of the gopura, however a guardian lion similar to those found at Bayon still stands at the crumbling stairway.

Sandstone vestibule then leads to the second level enclosure which then affords access to the third tier housing the central sanctuary. It’s a steep set of stairs to take on, but certainly not as bad as, say… central sanctuary of Angkor Wat. The view is quite nice from up there but take good care of your laptop or else you end up with no pictures of it, which is exactly what happened to me.

Ta Keo Temple

In 968 A.D., when King Jayavarman V was mere 10 year old, he succeeded to his father, Rajendravarman and took up the throne to the Khmer Empire. By the time he was 17, he moved his residence to the east end of East Baray while the lake’s west bank was to become the seat of new Khmer capital. The works on new capital’s state temple – Ta Keo began in 975 A.D. Even though known as Ta Keo at present day, temple’s original name was Hemasringagiri, meaning “The Mountain with Golden Peaks” in reference to the sacred peak of Mount Meru from Indian mythology.

Photo: Ta Keo Temple, Angkor, Cambodia
Photo: Ta Keo Temple, Angkor, Cambodia

King Jayavarman V died in 1001 A.D. and Ta Keo was left unfinished even though artisans had only started carving its walls. While it is likely that king’s premature death was one of the main reasons the works on the temple barely continued after his death (some work was done during the reign of Jayaviravarman who succeeded Jayavarman V), according to the account by Suryavarman I’s high priest Yogisvarapandita who got the temple many years later, Ta Keo was struck by a lightning while still under constructions which was understood as bad omen and all additional works on the structure were abandoned.

Photo: Stone Wall of Ta Keo Temple
Photo: Stone Wall of Ta Keo Temple

Given its height of 21.5 meters above the ground, Ta Keo is the highest temple at Angkor. The five tier pyramid temple was originally surrounded by moat but this has completely vanished with time. Temple’s upper level houses five sanctuary towers and is accessible by super steep stair on each side of the temple.

Photo: Steep Stairs Leading to a Ta Keo Tower
Photo: Steep Stairs Leading to a Ta Keo Tower

For me, Ta Keo was one of the least interesting temples on the little circuit. Since work on it was abandoned shortly after the artists started decorating it, there isn’t much as to the bas reliefs and/or carvings to see. I snapped a few pictures of Ta Keo, wiped off the sweat and moved on to ride further afield under the scorching Cambodian sun.

Photo: View of Ta Kep Court from the Upper Level
Photo: View of Ta Kep Court from the Upper Level

Baksei Chamkrong

I left Angkor Wat temple recharged and ready to continue exploring the temples on the small circuit. Getting back to my bicycle was quite an ordeal as dozens of money hungry touts got in my face determined to go through fire and flames just to get me to buy something from them. Using all sorts of well tested lines, they tried their darnest to make me pull the wallet out and shell out a few dollar bills but I just kept steady pace and headed straight for the bike so I can ride off. Next on my list and next in line before the southern gate to Angkor Thom was a small pyramid temple called Baksei Chamkrong.

Photo: Baksei Chamkrong Pyramid Temple
Photo: Baksei Chamkrong Pyramid Temple

Baksei Chamkrong is the only pyramid temple at Angkor Archaeological Park that was not a state temple. It was built in the first decade of the 10th century by King Harshavarman I but was later rebuilt and re-dedicated (in 948) by King Rajendravarman. Baksei Chamkrong, which means “The Bird with Sheltering Wings” stands at the foot of Phnom Bakheng which is a hill popular with tourists during sunset hours (Phnom means hill or mountain in Khmer, the meaning of Phnom Bakheng is Central Mountain). It was originally built to house the golden statue of Buddhist god Shiva and his spouse Devi. King Harshavarman I had the temple built in the memory of his parents.

Photo: East Gopura (Entrance Gate) With Remnants of Lion Guardian Was Part of Wall That Encircled Baksei Chamkrong
Photo: East Gopura (Entrance Gate) With Remnants of Lion Guardian Was Part of Wall That Encircled Baksei Chamkrong

Baksei Chamkrong was originally enclosed within a brick wall but nowadays there are only small fragments of it left. The pyramid temple faces east and has stairs at each cardinal point. Just as it is with Bakan sanctuary of Angkor Wat, stairs leading up to the summit of Baksei Chamkrong are extremely steep and challenging to climb. One has to be very careful and physically fit to get on top. Also, as it is with all temples of Angkor, these structures were not built as dwellings for people, only gods lived in houses of stone. People, including kings lived in wooden houses which are long gone.

Photo: Stairs Leading Up To The Summit of Baksei Chamkrong Are Steeper Than They Seem
Photo: Stairs Leading Up To The Summit of Baksei Chamkrong Are Steeper Than They Seem

There is an inscription on the eastern door frame which from what I understand talks about important kings of pre-Angkorian era, including hermit Kambu who is believed to have been “born from himself” and is considered to be the very ancestor of Khmer people. The succession of old Khmer kings starting with Jayavarman II is also praised in the inscription as is the most beautiful nymph Mera. The Sanskrit text was engraved on the door jamb by king Rajendravarman.

Photo: View of Baksei Chamkrong From the Road at South Gate of Angkor Thom
Photo: View of Baksei Chamkrong From the Road at South Gate of Angkor Thom

Because Baksei Chamkrong is a small structure it is left out of the itineraries followed by large organized tours but many individual travellers miss it too (or don’t bother to visit). Even though there was much ruckus and traffic down the nearby road, I had the entire Baksei Chamkrong for myself. It was a positive change from overcrowded Angkor Wat yet it’s a jewel I would definitely advice everyone not to miss. While exploring Angkor Wat requires at least two hours, you can have Baksei Chamkrong covered in some 15 minutes. Keep in mind that Baksei Chamkrong precedes Angkor Wat by more than 400 years.