Pre Rup, and not falling down stairs.

Our last stop for today was Pre Rup.  Originally the tour called for a few other temples but since we took the tuk tuk tour through the country, time did not allowed for it.  Honestly, I was fine with that.  I think trying to cram all those temples into one day would've been exhausting.  Hell, doing the two we did was exhausting.

We had passed Pre Rup on our way out to Kbal Spean, and I had intelligently noted, "That looks like brick."

"That would be because it is brick," said my guide, so hey, score one for observation?  While I say brick, and he says brick, I do not think we are thinking of the same thing.  Or maybe we are? I have no real idea how bricks are made so I have nothing to really get into scientifically, nor do I really care to honestly.

The temple is HUGE, and apparently the oldest one out of all the temples in the area. It is a temple mountain of combined brick, laterite, and sandstone.

Originally it was covered in stucco, hiding the brick and sandstone from view, but over time that has mostly disappeared, exposing the bright red and black sandstone to the world. The temple is believed to have been used as a crematorium, basically, with the rather modern name meaning to "turn the body," a name reflecting the common belief that this was a burial spot, with the ashes being ritually rotated in different directions as the process progressed. This temple is another one dedicated to Shiva.  The giant natural staircases are flanked by lions, all in varying states of condition.  Some are nothing but holes at this point, whereas some are mostly complete.  A couple lie in ruins just beneath the base.  From the top most base, you can spot one of the spires of Angkor Wat, which was pretty impressive to see.

The red sandstone was a brilliant contrast to the bright blue sky, and made for amazing pictures.  Inside several of the temple areas, the enormity of what they built can really be seen.  I will be sure to update with photos as soon as possible.

After all the climbing and hiking, my legs had gotten slightly sore, so wandering up and down the stairs was something best done slowly, without a doubt. I find the sides of the stairways to be easiest to climb, as in most cases you have a ledge to place your hand against.  I've passed several tourist these past two days who look at an area, for example the top most complex of Angkor Wat, and go, "How high up is that? And thats the only way up? Welp, won't be seeing that, thank you very much," which is very understandable.

Sothik was telling me on the hike that certain areas he can't take his guests depending on their age/condition, or how hes had quite a few times where people thought they could go up, and then they'd either get half way up or would be coming down and would just freeze, so he'd end up spending a good amount of time safely walking them back down.  The stairs are without a doubt steep, and in some cases there's no room for your full foot, even turned sideways.  Thank you Inca Trail for preparing me for that pleasure. As for me, I figure I didn't fly all the way from the US to look up at the places I'd like to see.

 The danger is very real though.  Just two days before visiting Angkor Wat, Sothik told me a Chinese tourist fell from a ledge, cracked his head and broke his arm.  At one of the other temples we visited, a Japanese lady fell to her death.  So there is no fooling around on the staircases, and if you suffer from vertigo or unsteady footing, do not attempt to climb up some of these.  Know your limits, because a picture isn't worth the fall.