Cambodia (Angkor): East Mebon and Banteay Samre

Neak Pean wasn't the only island at Angkor. South of the Jayatataka or North Baray was the much larger and older East Baray. Built about 900, it too was rectangular, but it measured about one mile north-south by four miles east-west. At its center was the island temple known as the East Mebon. (On the west side of Angkor Thom, there's a West Baray with a West Mebon, now only vestigial.) To the east of the East Baray, meanwhile, and connected to it by a causeway, was a city known as Banteay Samre, "the fortress of the Samre." Most visitors don't get to it: they're too fatigued. That's good news for anyone wanting to escape the crowds.