Cambodia Day 3, Part 5: Baphuon, Prasat Suor Prat towers, Chau Say Tevaoda, Thommonon, and Ta Keo

While Bayon is the center of Angkor Thom and the main temple, Baphuon is the main palace that take up much of the city's West half. 

The procession to the palace was slightly raised, probably over what was once a pond, since the Khmer thrived in the region due to their water management. 

The palace was being reconstructed during my visit, so sadly my access was limited to a viewing area outside the work zone. Tourists were not permitted to clamber over the ruin the way the workers were.

 I was growing restless and impatient, probably because I was unable to enter the palace and I was frustrated with the lack of signage, though perhaps I was just hungry. I biked up to some of the twelve unlabeled and unexplained towers. I could find no information about them while in Cambodia, but Wikipedia has some fascinating tidbits. 

I biked out the North gate to look at its decorations, which were certainly numerous if not nearly as impressive as the South gate. I then biked back to (successfully) search for noodle stalls in the central square of Angkor Thom. A more recent Buddhist pavilion was also in the area. 

I went out the East gate and to the two temples on either side of the road just outside Angkor Thom's walls: Chau Say Tevodo and Thommanon.

At the carts between these two temples, I enjoyed an expertly peeled and sliced mango and talked with some Korean tourists in my broken Korean and their notably better English. I continued out the road from the East gate to Ta Keo, and was proud of myself for arriving considerably more quickly by bicycle than the Koreans did in their tour bus.

There I climbed super steep stairs with a Dutch woman of Chinese decent, who I'd met earlier because she was staying at the guest house where I rented my bike. We chatted as we watched out for each other on the treacherous ladder-like stairs and enjoyed the view from the top.

Despite actually taking my time on this trip far more than my usual manic travelling pace, I was way ahead of schedule, so I continued on towards Ta Prohm.