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From the August 2016 return trip to Siem Reap and the Angkor complex:
I love the Angkor complex, Siem Reap, and the Cambodian people so much that I returned again for about a week to photograph as much of the “non-major” sites as I could. Some of them are slightly far from Angkor Wat (by that, I mean to say more than 10 kilometers away), and usually require a little more money to get to. Also, some of the sites (Beng Mealea, Phnom Kulen) are not included in the Angkor ticket price and have an additional admission fee.
I don’t know if there’s a set number of how many sites belong in the Angkor complex, though I’m sure it would vary. (Do you only count the major sites like Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm? Do you add the sites that aren’t included in the standard “Angkor Pass,” but are clearly of the same era? Do you include sites that aren’t even named (as are one of the sites in this series)? All in all, I’ll put a very rough number at…50 sites in the Siem Reap area, and that includes the sites that are about 100 km away. Of those, I would say I’ve been to all but 5-10 now. All are included here with the exception, obviously, of the sites that I didn’t visit. (Off the top of my head, I can say they include Koh Ker & that respective group, which is about 120 km ENE of Siem Reap; Phnom Krom, one of the three “mountains” with temples; Ta Prohm Kel; and Mangalartha.)
In practical terms, I’m afraid that with the volume of shooting (about 1,500 frames in the past 7 days), photos will start to look redundant to those who don’t have the same interest in ancient/historical architecture or Angkor as I do. That being said, there are a few things besides temples here. The Old Market area (now Night Market/Pub Street) is represented – a little – and Phnom Kulen has a pretty nice waterfall which is also in this series. Also, I tried to catch a few people in here, though didn’t get as many as I would’ve liked.
I had my friend Mao (tuktuk driver) take me around for 5 of these 7 days this time around. As I mentioned last time, he may cost a little more than what you can arrange through a hotel/guesthouse, but he’s well worth the money (and, in the grand scheme of things, not too expensive; I paid less than $200 for the five days, two of which were “long” trips). He loves his country and heritage, he knows what he’s showing you, he’s flexible, he gives you enough ice water to keep you hydrated, and he’s just a good guy. (He even bought me a birthday cake for cryin’ out loud…) Anyway, I highly recommend Mao. You can find him here: www.facebook.com/mao.khvan (or on Trip Advisor: www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297390-d10726821-R... )
Now that shameless plugs and other assorted rhetoric are out of the way, it’s time to get on to the temples, ruins, and other miscellany.
The Roluos Group. It sounds an awful lot like an investment firm, no? It actually refers to a group of three temples: Lo Lei, Preah Ko, and Bakong. They are among the oldest of the Angkor temples, predating Angkor Wat.
The three are quite near each other (obviously, as this is a “group” in the physical sense). However, I’m only presenting Bakong and Preah Ko here. I did see Lo Lei, but it’s essentially a sanctuary – a single tower – and when I saw it, there were two things working against it photographically. First was the absolutely torrential downpour. (This is the rainy season in Cambodia, after all, and I saw some rather fantastic thunderstorms, almost every day, but only a few minutes each day as a rule.) The other is that it’s currently under restoration and completely covered with scaffolding right now and, frankly, that doesn’t make for a very attractive picture. But, it was nice to see, and move on.
As I mentioned, the Roluos group is rather old. The three temples here all date to the late 9th century. At the time, this was Indravarman I’s capital (called Hariharalaya). When this was the capital, the only temple (if I’m not mistaken) that was built around the Angkor Wat area was Phnom Bakheng, which was dedicated in 907 AD by Yasovarman I.
Lo Lei is the first of the three that we visited. (Mao & I were with two Dutch guys on this day trip.) I’m glad it was the first of the sites we saw. It’s supposedly four brick towers, though I only saw the one completely covered in scaffolding. When this was built by Yasovarman I, it was on an islet. Now, it’s just a hill since the surrounding land is rice fields.
The second of the three Roluos sites we visited was Bakong (considered one of the top places to see an Angkor sunset…though most people don’t come out here). Also, of the three, Bakong is the only one that resembles the bigger “temples.” It was built and dedicated to Shiva by Indravarman I. It has a central temple surrounded by three outer walls and, finally, a moat. At the time of this visit, it was just after a rain and, like Lo Lei, it’s also currently under restoration (though, fortunately, not the main structure). It’s a sandstone structure, so would actually look quite good in afternoon light, though there was certainly none to be had on this day.
The last, and my favorite of the three, sites is Preah Ko. (“Preah” means “sacred,” which I mention here because it features in the names of quite a few of the Angkor sites. “Ko” is “cow/ox,” and I can think of that in conjunction with one other site.) So, the Sacred Ox temple, which consists of six prasats (stone halls) in two rows of three, is a site that was dedicated by Indravarman I to his deified ancestors in 880 AD.
As always, I hope you enjoy this set. I appreciate you taking time to look. If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a message or leave it via comment.
Off Kiwanas Camp Road, below Government Camp
Photo by Tim Palmer, author of 24 books about rivers, river conservation and the environment (see www.timpalmer.org).
This photo is available for use by nonprofit organizations and government agencies. Just send us a note requesting use, and we’ll drop you the original. We can be reached at rivers@fws.gov.
So Folkestone has a new zig-zag path, the new boardwalk made out of reclaimed hardwood railway sleepers, that runs across the shingle beach and is designed to create a new access to Folkestone Harbour Arm by connecting it with the Lower Leas Coastal Park. What happens to it when they build apartments on this beach as is planned I don’t know.
purple version
www.flickr.com/photos/buraksoysal/5962499352/in/set-72157...
blue-green version
www.flickr.com/photos/buraksoysal/5961944141/in/set-72157...
ZigZag is available for adoption in Northern Virginia, USA, through HART .
ZigZag is FIV+ and diabetic. HART believes that all cats and dogs deserve to be loved and to live in loving homes, even the sick, injured, and old.
Utricularia subulata
This is a tiny plant with threadlike stems (those are pine needles in the background). It is a terrestrial bladderwort so it "catches" micro organisms in the damp soil.
Here is a link to more photos of this wildflower: www.flickr.com/photos/wildflowersflorida/albums/721577055...
it came with the plate you see on the left. I had a brother machine for parts and needed a zig zag plate. the brother plate happened to be the right size. i just needed to modify it a bit.
blue-green version
www.flickr.com/photos/buraksoysal/5961944141/in/set-72157...
desaturated version
www.flickr.com/photos/buraksoysal/5961941939/in/set-72157...