Cambodia Day 1: Roluos Temples, Part 2: Preah Ko and Lolei

Preah Ko was a compact temple complex made up of a central brick tower that was slightly larger than the five brick towers that surrounded it.

Stylized stone lions guarded the entrance 

Preah Ko means the temple of the sacred bull. I think was the only water buffalo statue I saw, which is a bit surprising how common the water buffalo themselves were in the region. 

The ornate stone carvings held up incredibly well considering this was the oldest temple in the region at over 1200 years go. 

Not far away was Lolei temple. It was mostly being renovated, propped up by wooden supports. The complex was made up of three of the now-familiar brick towers. 

The cracked towers were fascinating. There is definitely beauty in partial decay, which let me see which parts were strong and where the stresses fell. 

 I tried to bike through backroads to see some small monuments and to have less traffic, but I couldn’t find the through roads. The ones I was on changed from dirt to sand to river. 

I did get a nice look at Roluos town, which was raised on stilts, and was full of naked children running around the farming communities. I biked back along main road to Siem Reap and was exhausted and dehydrated by the time I got there. I didn't even leave to eat dinner before falling asleep for 14 hours.