Okay that was a lot of reading so let’s just rest our minds and let our eyes take in the beauty of some of the other temples that surround Angkor Wat.
There are many sources from the Internet to books giving great detail on the temples of Angkor Wat. I have decided to touch on the very briefly.
PRE RUP
Pre Rup origins date to 967 in the 10thcentury under the reign of King Rajendravarman II. Its design follows some of the other temples in the area and considered one of the “mountain temples” which I am sure is due the many towers on its site.
The Central Tower flanked by two other towers and the cistern in the foreground.
BANTEAY SREI
Banteay Srei origins date to 961 in the 10thcentury and the only temple that was not built by a monarch. The temple was dedicated to the Hindu God Siva. Its name, Banteay Srei means Citadel of Women or Citadel of Beauty. Its designed and built of red sandstone which is easily carved forming many of the temple’s beautiful reliefs.
View of the Central Shrine and the MandapaAnother View of the Central Shrine and the Mandapa
EAST MEBON
East Mebon was also built under the reign of King Rajendravarman II in the 10thcentury. And dedicated in 953. The temple was also dedicated to the Hindu God Siva. It is built in the style of Pre Rup housing towers and in addition has several elephant statues acting as the temple’s guards.
Stairway to the Central TowerOne of the elephant temple guards throughout the site
TA SOM
Ta Som is a smaller temple then most and was also built under the reign of King Jayavarman VII at the end of the 12thcentury. It was dedicated to his father Dharanindravarman II who was King of the Khmer Empire from 1150 to 1160.
Strangler Fig at the East Gopura (entrance)Interior of Ta SomInterior of Ta Som exhibiting intricate Apsara Reliefs
NEAK PEAN
Neak Pean is a small monument that sits on a small island in the middle of a small pond. It was also built under the reign of King Jayavarman VIIat the end of the 12thcentury. The temple or monument itself is not very impressive. If it were not for the lake that you cross on the way in my opinion it is not worth seeing. The lake is absolutely beautiful and believed to possess miraculous healing powers and the source of four great rivers.
Lake at Neak PeanLake at Neak PeanLake at Neak Pean
PREAH KAHN
Preah Kahn was also built in 1191 by King Jayavarman VIIto honor his father Dharanindravarman II. It was his largest project having a flat design in the style of bayon. It is believed to be a Buddhist university with over 1,000 teachers.
An entrance to Preah KahnInterior of Preah Kahn and intricate reliefsInterior of Preah Kahn and intricate reliefs
I have had a number of friends ask what my process is of taking and editing photographs. I like many could write a book on the subject but instead I will try and be brief. And there are much better and more educated photographers then myself, but this is my take.
When I grab my camera like many I shot a large number of photographs of a given subject. My goal from any one shot is to get just one or two photographs that I think I could either publish or sell regardless of the number of images I take. It is a lot harder than you think.
When I get back from the shoot I always upload them to the computer and do a quick edit. If I have time I do a “hard” edit. I am looking for detail, focus, exposure, depth of field, shadows and which angle I like of the subject. When photographing wildlife or sports you are always hoping that everything is in focus because you are not photographing a static subject.
I use Lightroom and when doing my initial edit. If I think the photograph has merit I will give it one star and eliminate the others from my hard drive. During a second edit I review all that I kept and compare any that are similar, decide which I want and toss the others.
Next I take it into the darkroom and see if I can obtain what I was seeing in my mind when I took the shot. If I can I continue to develop the photograph and if not, I toss it.
Then I make a decision which is always hard for me. If I think I can sell the photograph, print the photograph or publish the image I keep it and give it four starts, if not I toss it. And if the image is one of my very favorites I will give it five stars. If it sells I will add the color blue to it.
I can’t remember if it was Scott Kelby, Anthony Morganti or another’s opinion that I had read but if you are not going to do any of the above why keep it and take up room on your hard drive.
Now with that said I do have a small number of photos that I consider “snaps”. These are the “been there done that photos”, pictures of family and friends etc. and I do keep those for memories.
In closing I like many of you I am sure have thrown thousands of photographs away. Every now and then I do a very hard edit to get rid of things that I thought I would print, publish or sell but on review they do not reach the bar.
Recently I decided to give my choices another look. I had close to 13,000 images that I thought met the bar I had set. Then I decided I was going to do an EXTREME EDIT. I went through every single photograph and if it was not in absolute focus whether I like the shot or not I tossed it. I went hardcore and if I was ever going to publish, sell or print the image, I tossed it. You can see where I am going with this. In the end I tossed another 6,000 photographs. This process literally took me 2 months working on it almost every day. Now I believe that every photograph I have kept has potential.
To hopefully alleviate having to do this again I have now promised myself that I will do the extreme edit right away. Usually I do the edit within the day or two of the shot. Then once I think I have it a day or two later I go through it again and go “extreme”.
I find this works for me. So far on this latest adventure in Cambodia and Thailand I have done an extreme edit on everything and I have kept 370 images. I have also thrown away at least triple that if not more.
I hope this has helped you make a decision on what to keep and what to toss. The key is DO NOT behind as it takes forever to get caught up. I have gone through multiple very hard edits over the years and have still found images to toss. I have literally thrown away 40-50,000 photos in the last 10 years.
Just a quick thought on going to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise. This was my Bucket List item when I decided to go to Angkor Wat. I wanted to do my best to photograph the sunrise and hopefully get a couple good shots.
What time to you get there is important. My tuk tuk driver wanted to leave at 4:30am which would have gotten me to the site at 5am. The grounds open at 5am so that would seem logically. However, everyone knows that so there is a line.
I insisted on leaving at 4:15am and that 15 minutes made all the difference. I was the first to get there on both days that I went. The reason this is important is there are not many places to get the exact view I wanted.
Before I get too far ahead of myself let me backtrack a bit. Do not go to Angkor Wat to see the sunrise on your first visit, unless off course you only have on day. The reason for this is you want to be able to envision your image and where you want to “stake your claim”.
On my first day to Angkor Wat I walked around trying to decide what view I wanted to capture. You can also use this time to photograph the structure during midday or if you go a bit later like I did take advantage of the sunset.
Most people are aware there is a reflection of Angkor Wat and the sun rises behind the structure. What they do not realize unless you notice this beforehand you have two choices of where to set up and both have advantages and disadvantages.
There are two small ponds in front of the main building of Angkor Wat that everyone is familiar. The pond on the left, which most people ran to has the advantage of the sun rising more behind the structure so you get more even lighting. The disadvantage is twofold, at least when I was there.
First the pond does not have as much “clean” water for the reflection as it has more lily pads and weeds. Secondly and more important to me was when I was there they were doing construction and renovations on the building. That is not what I want to appear in my image.
I opted for the pond on the right. The pond has plenty of “clean” water with some but not many lily pads. I also noted on the day I decided to explore that if you positioned yourself just right you had a clear view of all the towers bordered by palm trees.
This gets me back to my initial point. On the pond on the right if you are not in position at least one of the towers will be blocked. And there is only about a three, maybe four foot area to set your tripod to get the exact image between the palm trees.
A disadvantage would be that the sun does not rise exactly behind the building, it rises to the right. Still I chose this location. You may opt for the other and hopefully there will be no construction. Or it may not matter to you.
Another problem there are very few hardcore photographers compared to the number of those that were there to view or to photograph but not there with the thought of selling or publishing.
This caused a small problem and I’m sure made me look like an ass at times… “light pollution”. Once I very nicely explained the situation most understood. The problem is people are walking up with flashlights. I understand they need to see but they will be waving their lights around illuminating trees, the pond, the building etc.
I would remain calm and would say “please keep your lights on the ground”. Every now and then someone would say “sunrise isn’t for another hour”. I would have to tell them that I am taking photographs now and the light ruins the image, most understood. It’s not that you are being mean or deliberately trying to ruin the image, they just don’t know, they are not photographers.
If you are going to Angkor wat to photograph the sunrise I hope this helps. Here are my favorite sunrise shots.
The First Morning for the Sunrise at 5:30am with a 44 sec. exposure, f/4, ISO 1600Second Sunrise Morning at 5:30am with a 69 sec. exposure, f/8, ISO 400Second Sunrise Morning at 6:38am with a 1/125 sec. exposure, f/8, ISO 64
First one thing I neglected to state on my last post is that everything is done in US Dollars and they can easily be obtained at any ATM.
There are many places and cities to see in Cambodia. The reason I traveled to Cambodia and specifically Siem Reap was to visit and photograph Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples.
I had always heard of the Angkor Wat Temple and it had always been a “Bucket List” item for me to visit to photograph. Learning there were actually numerous temples was just a bonus.
The Angkor Wat Temples are located in Cambodia. They are one of Southeast Asia’s most important archaeological sites and protected by the UNESCO World Heritage Center.
There are numerous books and websites explaining in detail the history of Angkor Wat. I am only going to touch on its beginning briefly.
The Angkor Wat complex is the largest religious monument in the world. It was designed and constructed in the first half to the 12th century and dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu. In the late 12thcentury Angkor Wat transformed from a Hindu cultural center to one of Buddhism and it remains so to the present day.
Visiting Angkor Wat depends on where you are staying in Siem Reap. From most hotels it is a 30 minute ride by tuk tuk maybe more. From Theray’s it was 30 minutes and $10 round trip.
There are several itineraries ranging from approximately $20 for the “Small Circuit” to close to $30 for the “Large Circuit”. I believe the prices to be fair and depending on which you take it will either be a half day to full day.
Your first day you will need to decide how many times you want to visit the temples. The first stop along the way is the government Angkor Wat ticket office. For one day the cost is $37, 3 days is $62 which must be done in a one week period. Being in Seam Reap for 10 days I opted for the 7 day pass which was $72 and could be used over a one month period.
Day One I wanted to see and photograph the sunset at Angkor Wat. Leaving my hotel around 11am gave me plenty of time to explore not only the Angkor Wat temple but Ta Prohm.
Angkor Wat front view in the afternoon
The first stop was the Angkor Wat Temple. To reach the temple you cross a pontoon footbridge that crosses a moat. I spent the majority of time walking around the outside of the temple. I found this to have best photographic opportunities.
Angkor Wat early morning north sideAngkor Wat early morning south side
One warning do not leave your purse, backpacks or food on the ground. They will immediately become the property of one of the numerous monkeys.
Do not leave them on the temple either as I saw monkeys climb the walls, grab the booty and scale the wall back to the ground. You will never get your items back so consider yourself forewarned.
I did enter the inner temple but personally was not as impressed. Others may have a different opinion, I can only offer mine.
After visiting Angkor Wat, I ate lunch at one of the many small restaurants that are adjacent to the temple located near the parking lot. I found the food to be very good and reasonably priced.
I then took a 20 minute walk, you may take a tuk tuk to a Hot Air Balloon Ride. The balloon is tethered and rises for 400-600 feet above the ground depending on weather conditions. I found it to be well worth the $15 to see the temple and surrounding area from this vantage point.
Angkor Wat from the balloon
After the balloon I took a $5 tuk tuk ride to the Ta Prohm Temple. It is best known as the temple where Laura Croft Tomb Raider was filmed.
One of my favorite photographs is of a large tree in the middle of temple surrounded by the ruins.
Large tree in the middle of the Ta Prohm Temple
Occasionally you may be joined by a Buddhist Monk that is also enjoying the temple. You should always ask a Monk permission to take his photograph first and never touch a Monk unless they take your hand and bless you. This has happened to me a couple of times. After this photograph the Monk asked me to email the photograph to him which I was more then happy to do.
Monk in the Ta Prohm Temple
It was an amazing temple and the grounds are quite large with many passage ways, engraved rock walls and ruins to explore.
Interior of the Ta Prohm TempleInterior of the Ta Prohm TempleInterior of the Ta Prohm Temple
It may take you less time however I spent about two hours exploring the temple and taking photographs.
By the time I finished exploring Ta Prohm it was getting close to sunset. I headed back to the Angkor Wat Temple for my final photographs of the day.
Angkor Wat front view at sunsetAngkor Wat sunset south sideAngkor Wat sunset southwest corner
On the way back to the hotel I had my tuk tuk driver take me to Pub Street for dinner. By doing so I saved the additional time and money as it was on the way back.
My next stop was to take care of one of my “Bucket List” items, to go to Angkor Wat. There is no lodging in Angkor Wat itself so you will stay in the nearby city of Siem Reap.
Arriving from Bangkok I was happy that I had done the research and followed the advice of others and got my Cambodia Visa online. It was a very simple process and will save you a lot of time at Customs and Immigration.
Once out of the airport I took a taxi to my lodging at Theray’s Luxury Villa on the outskirts of Siem Reap. I do my best not to stay in the towns themselves preferring to be close but away from the “tourist zone” as I enjoy peace and quiet.
Theray’s is a small boutique property with a half dozen rooms. The lobby is nice sized with a sitting area, dining table, a variety or books and guides for loan and a “honor” refrigerator with drinks. The rate when I was there in the high season was $34 per night.
photo credit: Theary’s Luxury Villas
Outdoors there is a pool surrounded by several comfortable lounge chairs and a table and chairs that one could sit and work which is usually my case editing my photographs and writing my blog.
My room was on the second floor and nicely appointed. It had a patio that overlooked the pool and the shaded grounds along with a table and chair. There was also a large window on the opposite side of the room overlooking a rice field. It was air-conditioned with a couch, small refrigerator, large flat screen television and a couple tables. The bed might be the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in and the large bathroom had a rainfall shower with great pressure.
The staff was very friendly but spoke no English. Luckily the young couple managing could translate and were very helpful. They had a few tuk tuk drivers that were ready within a few minutes notice. This was important as the location is not near any restaurants though there is a convenience store within walking distance and a nice air-conditioned coffee shop but it serves no food.
I always try to be completely truthful in my blog so I feel I must say that my only regret with Theary’s was the food. Breakfast on the morning I tried was adequate and cost $3 for rice and eggs. I tried the dinner one evening of rice, vegetables and chicken for $6 but I only took a few bites, it just was not good so I decided to take a tuk tuk to Pub Street instead. The next morning I informed the manager that I was not comfortable with paying for dinner, which was not a problem. Please do not let this stop you from staying here, it truly is a great place.
To get to restaurants it is a $5 tuk tuk ride roundtrip to Pub Street and the Siem Reap Night Market. Unlike Bangkok there are very few street food vendors other than those selling ice cream, fruit shakes and drinks.
Pub Street downtown Siem Reap
There are however many restaurants that covers a several block area. As I was in Siem Reap for ten days I tried many of them but ended eating most of my meals at V Design Restaurant. Do not be fooled by the sign stating there is Japanese food, there is everything from sushi to pizza to the Cambodian staples. I found the food well prepared, delicious and the prices were fair. The V Design Restaurant is located on the left corner of the above photograph.
Pub Street downtown Siem Reap
Another favorite of mine the Yellow Mango Café which is located on the street paralleling the canal a couple blocks from central Pub Street. It is on the second floor and overlooks the canal and the Artist Night Market on the opposite bank. There is a large menu and I found the food to be fresh and properly prepared. The costs were approximately the same as V Design.
Bridge over the canal to the Siem Reap Artist Night Market
There are many restaurants in the area and food ranges from Mexican to Cambodian and from burgers to steaks and crocodile. You can be assured that you will find something to your liking.
Rice, Grilled Chicken, Soup, Fresh Spring Rolls and Ice Tea… $8
Most of my meals ranged from $6-$8 but could range higher depending on your selection. I typically ate fresh spring rolls, a selection from the variety of soups or curries offered and a beverage.
As a closing note I did not like Cambodia, or at least Siem Reap. It is a very dirty both in the city and in the surrounding areas with trash everywhere. I cannot speak for other places as I was only visited Siem Reap but other travelers told me of the same problem in the places they visited.
That is one of the many reasons I love Thailand, it is a very clean country. I have traveled to many regions and from small villages to towns to large cities. Everywhere I have gone it is very clean, almost pristine. You very seldom see any trash anywhere. It is as if the Thai people have a great respect for their homes, community and country. I like that.
PLEASE NOTE: Photographs were taken with a Panasonic /Lumix DMC-DS5 not my usual camera the Nikon D850… thus the difference in the usual quality but I wanted to give you something to see. Also I only use my photographs but was remiss on photographing Theary’s so I used their photographs with credit give. Credit given where credit is due…
Larry Pannell Travel and photography 