Banteay Srei meaning ‘ Citadel of Women’ is best known for its intricate carvings and is truly a temple displaying Khmer art at its finest. Situated 30km north of Siem Reap town (18km from Kbal Spean), this fairly small temple of pink sandstone is usually entered via the east entrance and there is a causeway and a few beautifully decorated gopuras (gateway) before reaching the inner enclosure.
detailed carvings on the pediments of gopuras
inscriptions on the inner walls and decorative patterns on the pillars of a gateway
Within the inner enclosure, there are three sanctuary towers. The central sanctuary is slightly taller that the other two, and is linked to a mandapa (ante-chamber). Both the north and central sanctuary are dedicated to Shiva while the south sanctuary is dedicated to Vishnu. Different guardian figures, usually of a human body with an animal head such as the lion, garuda or monkey, protect each of these sanctuaries. The statues here are replicas of the original which reside in the National Museum in Phnom Penh today.
the inner enclosure viewed from the south west
monkey-headed statues guarding the antechamber of the central sanctuary
a Devata on the outer wall of a sanctuary
the in-depth carvings at the west gopura
a scene of the fight between the two brothers Valin and Sugriva over the ruling of the monkey kingdom
the three sanctuary towers in a row as viewed from the west end of the temple
paddy fields just outside the temple and reflection of the clouds in the water
Local Village
As it starts to get dark, we make our way out of the temple. On our way back from Banteay Srei to Central Angkor Boutique Hotel, we pass by some local villages. We get down for a brief stop at a little village producing sugar from sugar palm trees.
a mini-stall set up, selling sugar by the road
close-up we see the brown sugar pieces on display and available for tasting
We learn about the sugar palm being an important source of income to Cambodians and the traditional process of sugar making here. The palm juice is first collected from both the male and female flowers into bamboo vessels. The juice can then be made into palm sugar by boiling the juice, after which it condenses to form round brown tablets. The palm sugar is then often wrapped in palm leaves to be sold.
(top left) the male and female flower and fruit; (top right) the juice collection vessels; (bottom left) boiling the juice; (bottom right) stacked-up sugar in palm leaves for sale
As we continue on our journey back, we enjoy a spectacular view of the sun setting over fields of paddy and sugar palm trees. Our tour guide slows down, opening the sunroof of the van for us to stand up and take in the breathtaking scenery. Below is a photo captured with the camera placed on top of the roof of the van for stability and we end up with an image reflected off the roof of the van!
Amazing!
Unbelievably beautiful bas-relief!
Did they just redo some of the carvings? Can spot some stone colour differences…
yup…some of the carvings have been restored.. u’ll notice the colour differences also because difference pieces were found from the rubble so it’s like piecing a jigsaw together.
I LOVE the ancient architecture – beautiful and unique carvings. Your pictures captured the beautiful artisan work. Well done!
Production of brown palm sugar – interesting!!
Cheers!
mylo
I thought the last picture is a lake if didn’t
mention that’s reflection of the van’s roof! @_@
I was reading your blog this afternoon,
and find out you’re travel and photography expert,
really glad to know you, I wanna put your website link in my blog,
and recommend my friends to read it,
hope you don’t mind!
mylo: the art at Banteay Srei is splendid indeed…and the pics are only very few of the many carvings everywhere around the temple
rafael: just started documenting my recent travels by sharing the photos i’ve taken. i checked out your photo gallery too apart from your blog. how long have u been in photography and what’s your usual camera/lens gear for your travel shots? i’ve also linked back to your site already.. thanks!
Thank you very much for linked my site too! ^.^
Photography is my bobby for many years, but still learning about it,
I usually use the Canon 450D and 24-70mm F2.8 L for travel,
and playing around the Fisheye lens recently, the image distort is quite interesting!
My pictures are JPEG resized under 250K, that’s the limit I set for loading faster in the site,
and I use the Picasa album for storage, the link speed is near to Flickr and it’s free! ^.^
yea the wide angle lenses would be really useful for scenery and event photography… for travel i usu don’t lug around different lenses so i stick to the multipurpose 18-200mm for zooming in sometimes.
I think the 18-200mm is a good choice for travel, I have the Tamron 18-270mm too,
as I will use it for travel sometimes, it’s very convinient and won’t miss any shots!
Lovely, lovely intricate carvings. Great photos. Hopefully I can visit Siem Reap soon.
such detailed photos of a place i also intend to visit in the future…
you also have a nice blog here. keep it up
thanks june & backpacking philippines! strongly encourage u both to visit siem reap some time!
On the second photo from the bottom- the juice colletion vessels- Taiwan’s aborginies hang those bamboo tubes on the trees to keep the birds away for the fruits or vegetables they grow.
Amazing sanctuary, admire each culture’s ancenstor’s wisdoms!
micki, really that’s interesting… i thought they use it to collect juice overnight only.. didn’t know they could be used for other purposes as u mentioned in taiwan – thanks for sharing