Cambodia — Day 3: Lolei (ប្រាសាទលលៃ), Angkor Archaeological Park, Angkor, Cambodia
Temple number 10
September 2015
By now, on the tour, I was getting a little ‘templed out’ and all the temples were beginning to blur into one. In the last three days, I had visited:
- Day 1: Angkor Wat Temple (អង្គរវត្ត) — built 1110-1150
- Day 1: Angkor Thom (អង្គរធំ) — 1181–1218
- Day 1: Ta Prohm (ប្រាសាទតាព្រហ្ម) — 1181–1218
- Day 2: Banteay Srei Temple (ប្រាសាទបន្ទាយស្រី) — 944-968
- Day 2: Banteay Samré (បន្ទាយសំរែ) — 1110-1150
- Day 2: Pre Rup (ប្រែរូប) — 944-968
- Day 3: Preah Khan (ប្រាសាទព្រះខ័ន) — 1181–1218
- Day 3: Preah Ko (ប្រាសាទព្រះគោ) — 877-893
- Day 3: Bakong Temple (បាគង) — 877-893
And including my final temple on the tour — Lolei (ប្រាសាទលលៃ) — made ten temples (not including the two I visited in Siem Reap) in three days.
Don’t think I am complaining about the number of temples I have visited, as I got my money’s worth out of the Angkor Archaeological Park pass. Still, ten in three days is a bit much, and if I ever go back to Angkor Archaeological Park, I would cut down on the number of temples and concentrate on a few. And I don’t think Angkor Wat would make that list.
Lolei (ប្រាសាទលលៃ) was built at the same time as Preah Ko and the Bakong (both of which I had visited), so between 877-893.
The temple is in the centre of a lake temple, with the lake being built first and then the temple.
When I visited, quite a bit of the temple was surrounded by scaffolding, which had been in place since 2010. The wooden beam supports you can see in the photographs below were installed in 2001.
For more information on Lolei (ប្រាសាទលលៃ), please see Wikipedia.
At Lolei (ប្រាសាទលលៃ), I saw another excellent example of writing carved into stone — the work of a highly skilled craftsman.
There was evidence that the temple was still used for worship, as I found a small shrine with some offerings.
The way the temple was built was fascinating. I loved the use of bricks, their colour and how they had become weather-worn.
And that was the tenth and last temple of the tour.
Foursquare: Lolei (ប្រាសាទលលៃ)
