We started at 8:30 and drove to pick up our 7 day Angkor pass (US$60) then headed out to Banteay Srei. This is also known as the woman's temple, it's carved from red sandstone and dedicated to Shiva (Hindu goddess of destruction). While not much remains the carvings that remain were beautifully ornate and detailed. Parts show Hindu gods and deamons as well as the infamous monkey king from Ramayana, others show dancers and fine floral patterns.
We then jumped back on the toktok and headed further out to Kbal Spean, a mountain river with a carved riverbed showing Shiva and other gods/royalty as well as circular carvings all the way down the river to the baby waterfall. The walk to the top was signposted as 1500m, it wasn't an easy climb as some areas are very steep and the path is littered with rocks and tree roots. But you'll be breathing heavily even at a steady pace, granted it was quite warm around 12-1pm. All in all a lovely spot, well worth the walk.
After eating lunch with our driver we set off again this time heading for Banteay Samre another Hindu based temple, most likely dedicated to Vishnu. Built around the same time as the Angkor Wat it shares similar architecture but on a comparatively smaller scale. We were shown a new area by one of the tour operators (manning a shrine) of an area that had been damaged under one of the inner towers. They're completely hollow and this one had bats living inside, the robbers had knocked in some ornamental pillars that acted as a screen.
One of the gateways and the ornate carvings ontop
The inner courtyard and pillars
Some of the detailing on the sides of the gateway
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