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Pre Rup in the morning light |
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East Mebon temple in the distance |
Pre Rup is the answer to all the craze and noise you will experience at the more touristy sites like Angkor Wat and the Bayon. It can get busy here too but it was quiet as we climbed up the steep stairs and we had this pyramid-temple all to ourselves.
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Steep staircase leading to the top |
This tenth century Hindu temple is often passed-by by visitors on their way to other sites yet it is far too beautiful to be left behind on the travel itiniary. Especially the view from the top platform should not be missed. We saw distant temples hidden in the trees and it gets one the feeling of the sheer size of the Angkorean temple sites.
There were a few lintels which we admired and the seated guardian lions overlooking the towers and walls below. And there are several Buddha images, old and new, in some of the towers, though this was initially a Hindu temple.
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Lintel above the doorway |
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Lions overlooking the lower levels |
Tourism hit us hard on the way down from this heavenly platform with an entire bus load of Chinese tourists who were swarming over the lower level of the temple like an ants nest. But like in many of these places, it is like a storm which comes and goes quickly. Most of them were not even willing to climb up the steep stairs. They just took a quick group photo and were back on the bus within minutes.
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Shrine with Buddha images |