Most of the Grand Circuit

Tuesday 23rd March

Started at 8am with Mr Sayon and his tuk tuk to attempt the grand circuit:

Preah Khan
A large temple on the flat with concentric enclosures where you walk through and the tuk tuk meets you on the other side.

Neak Pean
Completeley different from the rest, this is an arrangement of four large and four smaller lakes with a central sanctuary.

Ta Som
Another temple on the flat, at the far end a huge ficus tree has entwined itself around the giant head above the goppura ( cruciform entrance galleries).

East Mebon
A temple mountain. Steep laterite steps in the blazing sun. The terraces, which have lifesize stone elephants at the corners, contain brick 'spires', hollow and carved with bas reliefs on the outside.The brickwork is incredible. No mortar or regular bond is used. Each brick has been ground down to fit in with the next so there is less than a millimetre gap between them, so although irregular in size and shape, the resulting walls are strong. The three dimensional jigsaw puzzle must have taken as long as the stonework to build.

Stop for lunch in an unhygenic looking rather unappealing restaurant, but a pleasant breezze and overlooking a lake.

Pre Rup
Similar in construction to East Mebon, but with lions guarding the staircases and great view from the top over the plain.

Banteay Kdai
A temple on the flat used as a monastery until recently since being built a thousand years ago. On the flat and with the worst state of stonework yet seen. Walls are collapsing because the stones, though beautifully and painstakingly worked, were set without any thought to lateral bonding.

Ta Prohm
A temple on the flat, but where huge ficus trees have been left with their butress roots interpolated within and entwined around the stonework.

Gave up on the final two temples and returned to the hotel for a beer and a swim. Decided to extend stay here by an extra day, as we now need a rest and time to plan our third temple visit.

In the evening, took a tuk tuk to a gigantic restaurant where a buffet dinner had been prepared for several hundreds of people, followed by apsara and folk dancing accompanied by a gamelan orchestra. Great fun.