Cambodia - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 455

Unless wet-season conditions preclude it, try to enter via the east gate so the complex
unfolds before you as its architects intended, rather than via the west gate, which is all-
too-conveniently right on the main road.

BUDDHIST TEMPLE

Preah Neak Poan
MAP
(Temple of the Intertwined Nagas) Another late 12th-century work of Jayavarman VII, this
temple has a large square pool surrounded by four smaller square pools, with a circular
'island' in the middle. Water once flowed into the four pools via four ornamental spouts,
in the form of an elephant's head, a horse's head, a lion's head and a human head. It's a
safe bet that when the Encore Angkor Casino is eventually but inevitably developed in
Las Vegas or Macau, Preah Neak Poan will provide the blueprint for the ultimate swim-
ming complex.

Roluos Group
The monuments of Roluos, which served as Indravarman I's (r 877-89) capital, are among
the earliest large, permanent temples built by the Khmers and mark the dawn of Khmer
classical art. Preah Ko , dedicated to Shiva, has elaborate inscriptions in Sanskrit on the
doorposts of each tower and some of the best surviving examples of Angkorian plaster-
work. The city's central temple, Bakong , with its five-tier central pyramid of sandstone, is
a representation of Mt Meru.
Roluos is 13km east of Siem Reap along NH6 and can be easily combined with a visit
to the stilted village of Kompong Pluk and the nearby flooded forest.

HINDU TEMPLE