Wat Phnom

Wat Phnom is a Buddhist temple on a hill in Phnom Penh built in 1373. The city is actually named for the temple and the story is kinda cool.

Legend relates that Daun Penh, a wealthy widow, found a large koki tree in the river. Inside the tree she found four bronze statues of the Buddha. Lady Penh constructed a small shrine on an artificial hill to protect the sacred statues. Eventually this became a sacred site and sanctuary where people would make blessings and pray.

Lolei

Lolei is the northernmost Hindu temple of the Rolous Group. It was in a pretty shoddy state but a French guy and a Cambodian girl were there taking measurements and photographs with plans to help restore it. A small Buddhist temple was built adjacent to it.

Bakong

Bakong was probably my second favorite Angkorian temple. About 19km from Siem Reap, this temple is part of the Rolous Group and was built in the 9th century (ipso facto: Hindu) and was the first temple built of sandstone. It is surrounded by a large moat. Since a village was built around it there were tiny school girls walking around the outside and it was a beautiful spot to be at sundown. Andrew told me that every new year there is a huge party where they play games, drink, bands play and they all watch the sunrise the next morning. Sign this girl up.




she copied me.

Preah Ko

Preah Ko is one of three temples in the Rolous Group (all about 15-20km away from Siem Reap). All are a bit defunct and decrepit but Andrew and I had fun goofing off just the same :)

Bayon and Angkor Thom (Part 2)

Back to my favorite temple, Bayon. My previous visit and info here.

I honestly can't remember/find the name of this temple

whoops.

Either way, I met a precious old man with no teeth who blessed me and told me some stories about this temple. There were jewels, gold and beautiful bas relief's inside this temple in the inner sanctum. In the 70s when the Khmer Rouge ransacked all temples, they cut off all the religious imagery in this temple as it was sacrilegious to their "cause"...more to come on that.




this man was so cute...he said a prayer, flicked water all over me and tied this flower to my bracelet :)

Banteay Srei

Banteay Srei is a 10th century Hindu temple dedicated to the god Shiva. It was built solely by women and is about 25km northeast of the main Angkor temple group. One reason it was built so far away is because it is closer to the mountains and therefore closer to the source of red sandstone. This temple is particularly revered for its intricate carvings, but it was a little too crowded and over-hyped for my liking.




At a few of the main temples there are Land Mine Victim bands...all of the members were injured by landmines (which was and still is a huge problem in Cambodia, now mostly just in the countryside). There are estimated to be 4 to 6 million landmines still buried (and undetonated) in Cambodia. If you want to read more about land mines and how you can help go here.

Wat Bo

One of my non-temple days I wandered around Siem Reap. I stumbled upon Wat Bo, a small Buddhist temple, and spent 45 minutes talking to a monk (who asked me for my email address). The temple itself was quite ornate...there was even a secret crawl space the monk showed me. During the Khmer Rouge, monks were among the first to be executed so they hid in this attic for days and days. Crazy.

School + Temple in Kompompluk

These kids were so cute in their uniforms - not sure if this was "recess" or just how school works in Cambodia but they were funny.





these little girls were playing a game where they jumped over a way-too-high string. It was pretty hilarious.

Phnom Bakheng

Across the moat from Angkor Wat is Phnom Bakheng - a Hindu hill temple popular with tourists for watching the sunset over all of Angkor. I was more entertained by the massive number of people trying to take a picture (and millions of Koreans with their tripods) than the actual sunset, but in hindsight, it was pretty beautiful.



looking north - out there, that's Thailand




A lady fell down these rather treacherous steps and broke her leg...an ambulance had to get up a hill that is generally only frequented by humans and elephants.

Angkor Wat

The most famous of all the temples in Angkor, and the one that gave it it's name is Angkor Wat (which translates to "City Temple"). As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation — first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. It is the world's largest religious building. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Nearly 750,000 people visit Angkor Wat each year.


crossing the moat...



reflecting pond




preggo