Khett Siem Reab Things to Do Tips by chatterley

Tonle Sap - People

People live in their houses (boats), and we saw pets (dogs and monkeys) on the boat houses, as well as provision shops, handphone repair shop (?) etc on our boat trip.

This picture shows some Vietnamese people selling foodstuff (vegetables and fruits) from their tiny little boat.

The people who live on the lake are poor, and our guide told us that the availability of clean potable water is a problem for these dwellers. They had to buy water which had been processed for drinking.

Tonle Sap

We were not very keen on visiting Tonle Sap, as we had heard that there wasn't anything much to see, and it was more like a tourist trap. In the end, as it was included in the private tour package, and the weather was not good (light drizzle), we figured that there was no harm going since we couldn't visit the temples in this weather anyway. The boat trip turned out ok (not great, but not too bad either).

Tonle Sap is the largest freshwater lake in SE Asia, and it produces most of the fishes that you eat in Cambodia (it accounts for 60% of the protein intake of Cambodians). There are floating villages on the lake, and most of the people living there are Thais, Cambodians and Vietnamese.

We also saw schools and churches (donated by Koreans) floating on the lake.

Roluos Group - Bakong Temple, pyramid tower

The pyramid tower (the tallest tower at the Bakong Temple) was a later addition, built in the 12th century. The bas-reliefs on the tower could no longer be seen, but we could still see the devatas and dvarapalas on the sides of the doorways. Statues of lions guard the stairs.

Roluos Group - Bakong Temple, brick towers

The Bakong Temple has 8 brick towers, and these brick towers resemble those we saw at Preah Ko and Lolei (built in the same style).

Roluos Group - Bakong Temple

The Bakong Temple is actually the first "temple mountain" built by the Khmer rulers at Angkor. It was dedicated to Shiva, and was built with bricks and stones.

The temple has 2 moats and a causeway. It has a central temple pyramid with 5 levels (the topmost level was built much later in the 12th century).

You can also see stone statues of elephants (guardians) on the three lower levels of the pyramid. The elephant statues have all lost their trunks, unfortunately...

Roluos Group - Preah Ko, steps

The steps which we saw at Preah Ko were different as compared to the steps at other temples. Our guide told us that these are "moon steps" (not sure if it is correct). We didn't see these in any other temples we went to.

Roluos Group - Preah Ko, decorated doorway

The decorations on the doorway has really fine details, with 2 demon heads on each side.

Roluos Group - Preah Ko

Preah Ko was the first temple built in the Roluos Group (8th century), and it was dedicated to Shiva. "Ko" refers to the "sacred bull", and there were many bull statues in front of this brick temple. It is well known for its beautiful and intricate carvings on the lintels above the doorways.

The 1st picture shows the temple with the bull statues in front, 2nd picture shows the intricate carvings on the lintel.

Roluos Group - Lolei Temple, the dvarapalas

The dvarapalas are guardians of the temple, depicted in pairs of two on the doorways. One of the dvarapalas would be smiling, the other would have a stern facial expression. This picture shows the dvarapala with a frown, carrying a trident in his hand.

Roluos Group - Lolei Temple

Lolei is a temple in the Roluos Group, dating to the 9th century. It was once an island temple, built to symbolize Mt Meru, the home of Gods (which was believed to be surrounded by oceans). The water has dried up.

It was built using bricks, and is pretty dilapidated. However, you could still see the once beautifully-decorated false doors (see 2nd picture), and carvings of devatas and dvarapalas.