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Kravan temple - a quick stop

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The previous post in this series is here..

After going to the tea kadai temple, we were thinking our next stop was going to be Angkor Wat. It was still early morning and given our speed, our driver said we will most likely not need 3-4 hours to see the big temple. So we stopped at one more “must see” temple in this complex. It was a later temple (12th century) compared to the other temples that dated from 950-1100 time frame. It was the Kravan temple,

There were no idols left in the temple. They were all uprooted and taken to France apparently. Only the few murals on the walls remain. They were beautiful.

San almost fell down the steps and that got me worried. We were on day 4 of a 10 day trip and a wedding to attend. There was no room for injuries. There was a pond outside the temple that had violet lotus flowers. Have never seen that anywhere!

A short video highlights reel.

After we walked around this simple temple, we made our way back to the car.. next stop Angkor Wat temple..

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Banteay Kdei Temple

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The previous post in this series is here..

After visiting the Tomb Raider Ta Prohm temple, we went to the Banteay Kdei temple.

When our driver mentioned we will go to “Bun Tea kadai” I thought in Tamil.. he was going to get us to a shop that sold bun and tea.. for breakfast.. the visions of fresh steaming pav and chai was floating in my head. When he stopped at the parking lot and declared we had arrived, only then it struck me. It was yet another temple and I had heard what I wanted to hear.

Our driver said it was a really large temple and we should walk from this gate all the way to the other gate. It was a long distance, no kidding! He would drive the car and pick us up from the other gate. No point in us walking all the way back. We liked the idea.

The temple kept going and going and going.. we counted at least 20 arches through which we walked past on one straight line. The lingas were gone. The buddhas beheaded. Yet again a reminder that we as a collective are idiots. When we finally saw the one active shrine with a new Buddha that people were praying to, we also said a prayer and walked out.

These temples must have been spectacular in their hey dey! How did a country with these riches become what it is today.. we can only wonder.

When we came out we asked our driver “next stop Angkor Wat?” . He said “No. We can see one more temple before we head to Angkor Wat temple”.. This is a different style.. so off we went..It was still pleasant and just before 9AM. We had been on the road since 4;30 but were holding up pretty good.. will pick up that temple in the next post..

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Tomb raider - Ta Prohm temple .. where the roots take over

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Previous post in this series is here..

The sun was still coming out and we had already finished the Bayon temple. We drove past the elephant terrace where the elephant stables were and on to Ta Prohm temple.. aka Tomb Raider temple. The giant roots that take over the ruins of this temple are famous. We used to play a game in the early days of iPhone games where we had to run through the ruins of this temple and collect gold coins. It was called Temple Run.. while the adults used to huff and puff and struggle to get 1000 points, the little one who was probably 3 or 4 at that time would casually grab the phone and hit 100000 points and show it and go “what is the big deal?” We would all stare at it in disbelief.. We were thinking of our not so little one when visiting this temple.

The roots and ruins make an amazing backdrop. We also stopped by the victory gate if I remember it right and took pictures (including Yoga pics). Our driver was okay with me doing yoga poses as long as there was no risk. He also practiced some new techniques we had discussed.. I hope my suggested additions to his tool kit come in handy for future tourists.. The picture below was his idea..

Then he showed me a new trick.. made us walk through the temple and he took a pano shot.. froze in the middle and asked us to walk out and pose again on the other side.. now I have something added to my photo tool kit!

The photo galleries below. Yet again, these photos and videos do not capture the way nature has taken over mans creation when abandoned even for a few hundred years.. we as humans are insignificant.

Portraits gallery. Our driver was right.. This was magnificent and breathtaking like the Bayon temple and at places more interesting..

A video highlight reel..

After we finished this temple, we had one more temple to visit before hitting Angkor Wat. Given our speed, Saruk suggested we go see a bun tea kadai.. so I was thinking we were going to a shop to have some bun and tea and then go see a temple. I was in for a surprise.. that in the next post..

Copyright © 2012, Sundar Narayanan. All rights reserved.