Siem Reap - Day 4

Day 4 was our last day in Cambodia. We ventured out in the morning to visit the oldest group of Angkor temples: Lolei, Preah Ko and Bakong. Then we spent the afternoon shopping, swimming, and eating.

Preah Ko was the first temple to be built in the ancient Khmer capital of Hariharalaya. The temple was built under the Khmer King Indravarman I in 879 to honor members of the king's family. The complex consists of six brick towers arranged in two rows of three towers. The sanctuaries are dedicated to three of Indravarman's predecessors and their respective wives. The central towers all have images of the Hindu god Shiva.

Next we went to Bakong. Bakong was also built in the 9th century, and it served as the official state temple of King Indravarman I. The base is a great five-tiered pyramid, which is surrounded by eight towers. Bakong is the first real pyramidal shaped temple built in Cambodia, which researchers now call "temple mountain."

Lolei was the last temple we saw on our entire trip. It was the last of the three temples of the Rolous group (in this post) to be built. In 893, King Yasovarman I dedicated this temple to his parents and maternal grand parents under the Hindu god Shiva. The site consists of four brick temple towers grouped together on a terrace. The king built Lolei for his ancestors: one for his grandfather, one for his grandmother, one for his father, and one for his mother.

This was our least favorite day of temple hopping. I suppose it's because they just didn't stand out like the others. With that said, we're glad we had the opportunity to see them, as they had some seriously beautiful architectural detail.

One other thing I want to mention is that most of what we saw on day 4 were essentially tombs. But yet today, I'm sad to say that they are empty. Every single last tomb in all of Siem Reap is empty. Our tour guide said this is because of two main reasons. First, treasure hunters came searching for valuables... and took almost everything. What remained in the tombs was then stolen by tourists and sold in the black market. And this goes for all statues and any sort of valuable artifact in any and all of the temples in general. It's really sad to think about. I know I've said this before, but I wish more was being done to not only preserve these beautiful buildings, but to also find and replace it's treasures, statues, and artifacts.