The Small Circuit Angkor

We rented a bicycle to explore the Angkor temples. There are two main routes to discover at Angkor: the small circuit and the large circuit. Today’s program was to explore the "Small Circuit Angkor", a 17 kilometres ride which took us amongst some major and minor temples of Angkor. We bought the 3-days ticket from the ticket office and started our exploration. We planned to do the "Grand Circuit Angkor" the next day. We skipped Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom as we would explore them on our second and third day in Siem Reap. But both are also part of the Small Circuit.

We began with the 10th-century Temple, Prasat Kravan. The five-towered reddish brick shrine was our first ever temple in Angkor. Despite its small size, the temple was quiet and peaceful. Most temples in Angkor are overrun by hordes of Chinese tourists. We needed to be clever to avoid the crowd. Starting the small circuit early gave us some advantages (plus the heat is more bearable). Doing the small circuit in reverse also seems to help.

Banteay Kdei Temple also known as "Citadel of Monks' was next on the list and remains our favourite temple. The quiet serenity must have been for something as we were almost on our own. The maze of monastery old ruins overgrown with pristine trees resulted in ample photographic opportunities. An authentic paradise for photographers. Plus, we could easily snap pictures without any tourists in the frame. The less restored temple was just stunning in the morning light. We loved the impressive Garudas adorning the four gates, the crumbling towers, the majestic pond and the detailed carvings.

The Buddhist temple of Ta Prohm was next. The site made famous by the blockbuster Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was a major attraction. We wandered in the corridors of the unrestored temples. Ta Prohm has been purposely left as it was discovered in 1920. Everywhere huge trees and massive roots were taking over the crumbling temple. The banyan or strangler fig trees were slowly winning the battle at engulfing the majestic architecture.

We ended up the day with a visit to Phnom Bakheng on top of the four hills in the Angkor area. All the guides tend to suggest that this is the place to go for the sunset view. As only 300 visitors are allowed to climb the temple at a time, we went early to secure our access. The popular tourist spot was already full by 5ish and people started queuing in the hope to get a golden ticket to climb up. We waited more than an hour before finally witness the sunset. The sunset was not over Angkor Wat as we read of some blogs but mainly over the lush forest. Still, it was a good photographic viewpoint. As the sun set, we headed off into the city centre for an amazing dinner at the Footprint Cafes to conclude our small circuit Angkor.