Roluos Group near Siem Reap, Cambodia

Our final day of temple spotting was spent near Roluos, 13 km east of Siem Reap. We walked around Preah Ko built in 880AD by Indravarman I. It features six towers and some fine lime mortar decorations. Next stop was graceful Lolei also dating from the late 9th century and featuring lime mortar mouldings on the now overgrown towers. There is a “working” monastery at Lolei and we spent a few minutes strolling around that too. Our final stop was at Bakong, the largest temple in the area, also built in the late 9th century as the State Temple of Indravarman I. It’s composed of a massive five-tiered stone block pyramid topped with a tower of a much later period, in the style of Angkor Wat (possibly by Jayavarman III). Statues of elephants were placed on the corners of the three lower tiers as guardians.

We fittingly ended our time at Angkor as we had begun – with a sunset stroll around the magnificent King of them all – Angkor Wat. But we left with a much better understanding of the lesser-known but equally grand other ancient temples and palaces, any one of which alone would amply justify a visit to Siem Reap. This place is truly one of the great wonders of the world.

Back in Siem Reap we said our farewells to our excellent driver Rada. He happened to be the driver of the taxi we hired when we arrived at the Siem Reap airport and we accepted Rada’s offer to transport us around the area for the three days. He was an excellent operator; punctual, careful and caring to others on the road. Our time in Siem Rep was much the better for our chance meeting with Rada at the airport. He’s the man to look out for when you need a driver to go to see the stunning Temples of Angkor.