In the morning we took off in the direction of Siem Reap where we were going to visit the Ankor Wat archaeological sites. However, first we did a little detour to a relatively new UNESCO World Heritage Site ‘Sambor Prei Kuk’. Also known as ‘the temples in the forest’. Those temples dated back from the 7th century, so much earlier than Ankor Wat.
In the past, the site counted perhaps 200 temples, now about 40 remain, all for Shiva (Hinduism). Some of the temples (e.g. the octagonal ones) can only be seen here. The restoration works can now be further completed due to the UNESCO money.
The temples were divided into 3 large groups. We visited all of them with the help of a local guide. There were only 2 other tourists, so it felt like a VIP treatment. Taking pictures without any other tourists in them was very easy. For the local community, however, it was a real pity because they lost income due to the limited number of visitors. Our guide said that there were days that nobody passed. That’s a real shame because it is a very beautiful site and it is very well maintained.
A day trip from Siem Reap would take 2.5 hours, but if you visit it on your way from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap as we did (with or without the overnight stay at Kampong Thom), it might be more efficient.
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