The temple that kept going - Ta Som

Previous post in this series is here..

It was almost 4 PM. We had visited six places since morning. Given our schedule, our driver told us we had three more temples to see before sunset.

The next temple stop was back in the Agnkor complex or close to it. The Ta Som temple built by Jayavarman VII who appeased both Hindus and Buddhists by building temples for both. This one was a Hindu temple and kept going.. from one entrance to the other we walked past at least a dozen doorways and corridors.

At some point when it was a functioning temple, this must have been like the Aavudaiyaar kovil we saw in Tamilnadu two years ago. Just magnificent.

Our drivers artistic photography was taking a hit by now. We were tired. San managed the occasional smile. I could not carry my heavy SLR anymore and took only my iPhone with me. Not a lot of photos but the video tells you everything. Most of the temple was shaded and that was a big plus. We walked all the way to the other end to see the 4 headed Brahma on the gate and walked back.

Our driver had the right concept for this one.. he just had to get more depth to get me in focus instead fo the web.. still I give him A+ for effort..

The video highlight reel.. (the photos really don’t show the grandeur of the temple in terms of distance).

After this we were off to another temple…. the temples, they kept on coming..

Finally a live temple- Wat Preah Ang Thom Buddha

Previous post in this Thanksgiving 2025 trip is here..

We had driven more than 75km from our hotel to get to the Kulen mountain area. This area was an old settlement from which the kings came down to set up Angkor Wat.

Our first stop in this hill was the reclining buddha temple, the largest such buddha in Cambodia. The head of VIshnu may have been replaced with a head of Buddha. The temple on the rock on top of a hill is impressive and it was good that there are still prayers going on.

A note about this drive. Kulen mountain is where the buddha is and it is a long drive up a windy road and cars drive slowly to be safe. One good thing about Cambodia compared to India is that the temples may be in ruins, but the restrooms near the ticket counters are extremely well maintained. Clean and constantly cleaned. So use the restrooms in the Angkor wat complex before driving up!

They are continuing to piece together history at this site. The steps to go up are beautiful as are the stores. We got to pray, make wishes by ringing the bell and also eat some kuzhi paniyaaram. Here are the photos.. on the way to this area we did stop by to see the place where they quarried the stones to build temples. We also got to see how the villagers were drying the rice to store.. they had just started the harvest! The first photo is from the quarry! There were some interesting cats. GIven our little one loves cats, I am now taking “Catraits” wherever we go..

More photos..

and a video highlights reel..

Again we beat the buses. We walked out when two big buses showed up! It was time to drive to the next stop..

Seen one ash buried city, you have seen them all - Pompeii

The previous post in this series is here..

After visiting Herculaneum, I drove in peak traffic to Pompeii. There are a lot of one way roads and once in Pompeii, there was no parking. Finally we found parking. When we got out, San and the kids were tired. It was a 100 F outside and Jr. said she was not feeling well. This was our healthy child ! Was it because of the two hour soak in the sea the previous evening? In any case, they decided to go find a place to eat and message me. Was given one hour from entry to exit in Pompeii. There were a few people in front of me in the line who did not share my sense of urgency and were blocking all lanes in hopes that one of them would get to the counter. The girls whose job it was to order the crowd to the limited ticket counters were useless and just sat there gossipping. Once I got my ticket, I just ran through the entire site. Clicked a few selfies on the way, and followed the crowd all the way to the amphitheater.

The rooms and roads of Pompeii give you the same impression as Herculaneum, but the homes seem not as lavish. Seems to be a larger crowded place. These are some unique things that caught my eye that were different from the previous site. The amphitheater at the end of the site that could house 10,000 people was just amazing as was the gymnasium courtyard. All of it gone in the blink of an eye, thanks to a volcano!

Only 360 pano shot I took in this place standing in the middle of the amphitheater.

A video highlights reel of my run through Pompeii.

When I started coming back, took a weird turn and ended up at a different exit.

I got lost in the end and saw no one for a minute and panicked.. finally two ladies who had a map told me there are multiple entrances to the place and the one where my family stayed back is most likely on the other end of the complex but was a straight 10 minute walk. That saved me..

It is better to do Herculaneum first than Pompeii. Glad I went there first and earlier in the morning. The place gets very hot. Maybe allot more time and do one site in the morning and the other in the evening?! In any case, the photos and videos here tell you the story!

Finally realized that my family had not given me their location because I had no data plan and was in airplane mode! Then found out that they had already finished lunch and were waiting for me at a nice place. They watched me eat a full pizza in record time and we started our walk back to the parking lot. It was a long drive in traffic back to our hotel in Sorrento. Came back to the room, showered again and went down to have some hot tea. Then had to take a power nap before leaving again on yet another adventure!

All said and done, do not miss visiting this site. Just allot more time, take an umbrella and a bottle of water and then roam around at a leisurely pace!