Phimeanakas is one of the older temples in Angkor Thom built at the end of the 10th century. It sits in the walled enclosure of the royal palace and it’s southern neighbor is Baphoun. It was closed when we visited in 2020.

It ended up being better that Phimeanakas was closed. After a long morning of exploration, the girls were more interested in the large reservoir pool and the butterflies flitting around it.

It was here, in an ancient pool, that Charlotte caught a tiny little frog and hurried to show her mom. In the video, you can hear how it quiet it was and see the butterflies flitting around.

I noted that Phimeanakas was within the walled enclosure of the royal palace but we did not visit the royal palace. This is because most non-religious buildings in Angkor, including the palace, were made of wood. Archaeologists have some basic ideas of how Angkor was laid out and where the royal palace sat, but most of the details have been lost to time.