Continuing on with the tuk tuk, we headed to Banteay Srei, 32 kilometers from Siem Reap. The 10th century temple is renowned for its elaborate carvings which extensively cover almost every inch of the complex, supposedly some of the finest on Earth(at the very least, finest Angkorian).
Banteay Srei means 'citadel of women', as it's said the three-dimensional carvings are too fine for the hands of man to have made.
Banteay Srei from Travels with Charley on Vimeo.
The pinkish hue of the buildings come from the rocks from which the stones were originally cut, and give the carvings even more beauty. Standing guard at the center of this temple of crimson are the 'mythical guardians' - monkey-faced stone sentries - replicas of the originals, which are housed at the National Museum in Phnom Penh. (I was later there and saw them and more intricate carvings from Banteay Srei)
We left red for green. Back on the road again, we continued deeper into the Cambodian countryside, up to the lone mountain in this flat land of rice paddies. As we began to leave the level lowlands and enter the mountains, the rain began to pelt us as we sped towards the sacred river carvings of Kbal Spean.
Banteay Srei means 'citadel of women', as it's said the three-dimensional carvings are too fine for the hands of man to have made.
Banteay Srei from Travels with Charley on Vimeo.
The pinkish hue of the buildings come from the rocks from which the stones were originally cut, and give the carvings even more beauty. Standing guard at the center of this temple of crimson are the 'mythical guardians' - monkey-faced stone sentries - replicas of the originals, which are housed at the National Museum in Phnom Penh. (I was later there and saw them and more intricate carvings from Banteay Srei)
We left red for green. Back on the road again, we continued deeper into the Cambodian countryside, up to the lone mountain in this flat land of rice paddies. As we began to leave the level lowlands and enter the mountains, the rain began to pelt us as we sped towards the sacred river carvings of Kbal Spean.
Cambodian Countryside from Travels with Charley on Vimeo.
Farming was, and still is, the foundation for living in Cambodia. Rice fields were normally planted near rivers and depended on overflow during the rainy season and irrigation to harvest good crop yields. These rivers were sacred in ancient times. Kbal Spean was sacred to the Khmers because its where the river begins.
Kbal Spean (50 kilometers from Siem Reap) is also referred to the 'River of a 1000 Lingas' because the riverbed is dotted with round stone carvings, or lingas, as well as deities and other images. A little water falls flows over an impressive image of Vishnu, and along the stream are many carvings of Hindu Gods.
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