Date of travel: Oct. 5, 2012
The rainy season is probably not the best time to see the temples of Siem Reap because, well, it rains a lot. Let me be cocky and qualify this - with rain comes overcast skies, so you don't get a lot interplay of form, light, and shadows. When a friend of mine toured the temples in summer, she complained that was it was too hot for a tuktuk ride, so her group ended up renting a car which of course is more expensive. But I'll take the heat anytime just to experience the Angkor Wat sunrise and sunset.
Banteay Srei and its throng of visitors. From afar, the miniature-scale temple isn't as striking as the other massive temples of Siem Reap - what sets it apart is the concentration of intricate carvings and bas reliefs. I admit I was a little disappointed when I first saw the temple because when they said 'pink sandstone,' I really visualized a pink temple. To me, the temple's color looked more orange.
You see, we scheduled our temple tour on our first morning in Siem Reap, and we were supposed to kick off with an Angkor Wat sunrise. The plan was to go to Angkor Wat very early in the morning, head back to the hotel for breakfast, then visit the rest of the temples. Ponleau met us that morning though to tell us that we wouldn't see anything because of the weather.
Top: On our way to see Banteay Srei. The weather was crazy that day, drizzling one minute then the sun'd be beating down on us the next. Below: Istine with our tour guide, Narith Pong, explaining the meaning of the carvings on the pediment of a gopura.
When we rendezvoused again later that day, he had someone else with him who I knew right away was a tour guide because of his uniform. I'd read somewhere that tour guides are required to wear their uniforms for identification, since the temple complex doesn't allow tuktuk drivers to accompany visitors. I knew right away, too, that he liked quizzing his clients because when he introduced himself to me he said his name once, covered his name tag, and asked me to repeat his name (and I was right, throughout the tour he'd say words in Khmer and have us say them back).
Doors at Banteay Srei get smaller and smaller to remind us, they say, that the way to the gods is not easy.
We first headed to Banteay Srei which is isolated from most of the other temples. Our guides told us that it's about forty minutes away by tuktuk, and would therefore jack up the tuktuk fee for that day to $30.00 (it would have been $18.00 had we decided not to visit Banteay Srei), but that it's worth checking out because it's made of pink sandstone (and of course they had us at 'pink').
Banteay Srei: Shiva's dance of destruction and one of the gopuras.
Even before we got the the temple, we knew the trip was worthwhile because we got to see some of Siem Reap's countryside. We observed that most of the houses by the road resemble the nipa huts in the Philippines, albeit taller (so their silong is higher). We also took this time to get to know Narith. He said he's originally from Phnom Penh, and that he has only been in Siem Reap for seven years. He said he likes Siem Reap better because it's less crowded and traffic isn't bad. He also shared that he's never been out of the country, and that that's the norm among Khmers because most cannot afford to travel abroad. He said that Siem Reap may have a lot of hotels but most locals will never be able to afford to stay in one.
A bas relief of a devata in Banteay Srei.
In restrospect, I find it funny that when we first hopped in the tuktuk, we had so much energy and enthusiasm; we asked Narith everything we could about Cambodia. And I'm sure that Ponleau could tell that every time we got back to his tuktuk after visiting a temple, our energy dwindled. On our way back to the city center, we were so exhausted that, for the most part, we were just nodding to Narith's stories. It was during this trip, though, when he told us his experience during Khmer Rouge Regime (I think the topic came up when we asked him how to go to the Killing Field Site in Siem Reap). He said he was about six years old at the height of Pol Pot's power, and that his father and his brother were among those killed during this time.
I'll write more about Banteay Srei in my next entry. I leave you with photos of my Cambodia travel companions cum ever-willing models posing for me at Banteay Srei:
Grace got photobombed by the lady at the back. Considering it was tourist off-peak season in Cambodia, there sure were lots of people at the temples. I can only imagine what the temples must look like during peak season.
'Decided to make this photo monochrome because Istine recently told me her newfound preference for B&W. :)
Labels: Banteay Srei, Cambodia, Siem Reap, Siem Reap temples
