Cambodia — Day 2: Banteay Srei Temple (ប្រាសាទបន្ទាយស្រី), Angkor Archaeological Park, Angkor, Cambodia

Day 2 of temples

September 2015

Day 2 of my tour of the temples in Angkor Archaeological Park started with a 50-minute drive from Siem Reap along some very rough roads.

On the drive, we passed numerous fields growing rice and went through several small villages. I saw many houses raised on stilts and small stalls by the road selling food. There seemed to be miles of stalls along the road. Stalls fronted nearly every home in the small villages. Did they ever sell anything? Some stalls appear abandoned.

We arrived at Banteay Srei Temple (ប្រាសាទបន្ទាយស្រី) at about 9:20 am, and it was raining again.

I popped into the visitor’s centre for some snacks from a mini-market. The centre also had some shops selling souvenirs.

Banteay Srei Temple (ប្រាសាទបន្ទាយស្រី) was very busy, and there were also numerous kids around selling postcards, beads, and guidebooks.

Banteay Srei Temple (ប្រាសាទបន្ទាយស្រី) was built during the reign of Rajendravarman (944–968), and so was the oldest temple I had so far visited. Angkor Wat Temple (អង្គរវត្ត) was built between 1110 and 1150; Angkor Thom (អង្គរធំ) and Ta Prohm (ប្រាសាទតាព្រហ្ម), were both built between 1181 and 1218;

Banteay Srei Temple (ប្រាសាទបន្ទាយស្រី) is the only temple in Angkor Archaeological Park not built by a…