Neak Poun and Preah Khan Temple

The light started looking good so we got a tuk tuk, first to Neak Poun - ប្រាសាទ​នាគព័ន្ធ, then Preah Khan Temple - ប្រាសាទព្រះខ័ន and later sunset over looking the West side of Angkor Wat - ក្លោងទ្វារធំ អង្គរវត្ត.  Neak Poun (also Pean and Poan) was built in the 12th century in the “the reign of King Jayavarman VII” as a hospital on an artificial island in the Jayatataka Baray. It’s a small beautiful site that is seldom visited, access is via a picturesque wooden walkway over the baray from the east side. As you walk around you start to notice that it is home to a number of local people living in the most basic conditions with minimal shelter. See Oriental Architecture.

Preah Khan (Royal Sword) Temple “was built in 1191 during the reign of King Jayavarman VII”, who also constructed the more famous Ta Prohm, to honour his father. It's the site of Jayavarman VII's victorious battle against “the invading Chams” in 1191 and where there had previously other royal buildings. It was more like a city than temple and housed a large number of monks, teachers and students, all supported by an even greater number of farmers who supplied the complex. The numbers of residents and supporters quoted in Oriental Architecture and Wikipedia seem impossibly large to be anything more than indicators for a great number.

After Preah Khan we went onto the west side of Angkor Wat - ក្លោងទ្វារធំ អង្គរវត្ត for the sunset.