Khett Kampong Thum Things to Do

  Sign at Turn to Sambor Prei Kuk
by AlbuqRay
 
  • Sign at Turn to Sambor Prei Kuk
      Sign at Turn to Sambor Prei Kuk
    by AlbuqRay
  • Road to Sambor Prei Kuk
      Road to Sambor Prei Kuk
    by AlbuqRay
  • Past a Lake with Water Buffalo Swimming
      Past a Lake with Water Buffalo Swimming
    by AlbuqRay
  • Sambor Prei Kuk Welcome Center
      Sambor Prei Kuk Welcome Center
    by AlbuqRay
  • Bridge Next to Sambor Prei Kuk Welcome Center
      Bridge Next to Sambor Prei Kuk Welcome...
    by AlbuqRay
 

Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Annotated Sambor Prei Kuk Map

by AlbuqRay

The three temple groups of Sambor Prei Kuk cover a large area but they may be toured by walking. The Canby Publications map is quite good, except the admission turned out to be 2 USD instead of 3. The self-guided walking tour that we did is marked on the map. We started at Prasat Yeah Puon (South Group), then went to the Lion Temple in Prasat Tor (Central Group), and finished with Prasat Sambor (North Group), which is next to the parking area. However, we did not allow enough time and missed some things like Prasat Asram Isay (N17), the oldest structure and Prasat Chrey (N18), which is almost completely overgrown by a large tree. Both are on the north side of the access road across from the parking area.The Kingdom of Cambodia Ministry of Tourism says:"The ancient city where monuments of Sambo Prei Kuk are found today was identified as ISANAPURA, the capital of Chenla in 7th century....

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Sambor Prei Kuk Parking Area and Market

by AlbuqRay

It was about 4:30 PM on a Friday (19 Feb 2010) when we arrived at Sambor Prei Kuk and we left around 5:30 PM. We were the only visitors at the whole site during that time. Although we stopped at the Welcome Center on the way in to pay my admission and use the restrooms, we did not go to the market area while we were there.

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Birthplace of Khmer Art

by AlbuqRay

Sambor Prei Kuk was the first temple city in Asia and is considered the birthplace of Khmer art, since the earliest existing examples came from this site. The Statue of Durga is one of the more famous. It was found in N9 in Prasat Sambor (North Group). The original is now in the National Museum but there is a replica inside N9. The statue is of a semi-nude woman and now has no head or arms. Some compare the Statue of Durga to the ancient Greek statue of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, but to me it is reminiscent of Venus de Milo.

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Linga at N14-2

by AlbuqRay

The marker at the N14-2 Tower site says:"During the pre-Angkor period, Shiva was primarily worshipped in the form of a stone linga. The Khmers' perceived resemblance of Shiva to an indigenous god of the soil allowed them to associate Shiva more easily with a linga shaped stone than an anthropomorphic image."N14-2 was excavated in 2005 and the pedestal with a linga was found. The real linga has been replaced with a replica.

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Central Tower of Prasat Sambor (N1)

by AlbuqRay

Prasat Sambor (North Group) is the main temple group at Sambor Prei Kuk. It is dedicated to Gambhireshvara, which is one of Shiva's many incarnations. There are a series of lingas around the central tower (N1) that show the Hindu influence. In Feb 2010, N1 was being restored and we were unable to get close to it.

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Un-Named Tower in Prasat Sambor

by AlbuqRay

There is a tower in the southwest corner of the outer courtyard of Prasat Sambor (North Group) that has not been assigned a code. It may be because it has not been excavated. It is close to the only octagon-shaped tower in the North Group, N7.

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Highway NH64 North from NH6

by AlbuqRay

It is quite easy to get to the Sambor Prei Kuk access road from Kampong Thom. It takes less than one hour. Just take NH6 north toward Siem Reap for ~5 km and continue north on NH64 for ~11 km. NH6 is paved and NH64 was under construction in Feb 2010 and may be paved by now.

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Access Road to Sambor Prei Kuk

by AlbuqRay

At the sign shown in the first picture turn east on the new road. The new road is not paved but it is in excellent condition. It is ~14 km to Sambor Prei Kuk on this new access road. Foreigners need to stop at the small Welcome Center just before the bridge and pay a 2 USD entry fee. There are public restrooms at the Welcome Center.

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Lion Temple in Prasat Tor (Central Group)

by AlbuqRay

The Lion Temple (C1) is essentially the only tower still existing in the Central Group. One of the girls guiding us said that the temples were gone from "nature and bombing." Sadly, the US Air Force bombed this site during the 1970's while supporting the Lon Nol government's unsuccessful fight against the Khmer Rouge. C1 is named for the Chenla-style stone lions that guard the door on the east side of the temple. See also a travelogue with more scenes of the Lion Temple architecture.

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S5 Gate of Prasat Yeah Puon

by AlbuqRay

The west gate of the inner wall at the South Group is S5. You actually walk through a gap in the wall rather than the west gate itself. There are some really interesting carvings on a piece of the wall south of S5.

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