3rd and Six

This week I'm going to make my third trip to the Preah Vihear dipterocarp forest, to finish up the English classes Miyuki and I began last month (Miyuki braved the forest and the classes alone while I was out of commission). The teaching has been a really good experience, and although many of the hours surrounding the teaching were boring, I think I learned a lot and met some interesting people, both Khmer and foreign.

On the way to Preah Vihear the first time, we visited an ancient temple called Koh Ker (pronounced more like Kaw Kai) which I heard somewhere used to be a "rival capital" to Angkor Wat itself. It's in the middle of a large forested area, and the road conditions make the temple difficult to get to. It's a fairly run-down temple, and you have to wonder how many more centuries it can withstand before it becomes just another pile of rocks. Around the edges of the complex, a series of smaller pathways lead to shrines in various states of disrepair.



Some of the ancient Khmer writing on the shrine/temple walls is still fairly clear, despite the temple's degraded condition.



The pathways and small buildings follow each other back to the big temple of Koh Ker itself. Until recently, you could climb this temple, but it's probably not safe to do it anymore. In any event, the stairs are blocked off.



I can't imagine the temple in the dry season: without the greenery it probably seems very lonely.

So I have finally, finally, really seen one of the great Angkorian temples. Entrance cost $10, half of the Angkor Wat park entrance fee. I was certainly reluctant to release that crisp 10-dollar bill, but in the end I guess I don't miss it (too much).