The Ruins Of Beng Mealea

After our descent from Kbal Spean, we had lunch at a restaurant near the foot hill.



To quench my thirst, I ordered a large coconut.







Jam, his friend and I had these for our lunch. This is fried pineapples with chicken meat.







Fried rice







Not sure what this was! Could not remember! Haha!







The lunch was nothing to shout about but it did filled our hungry stomachs. After lunch, we headed to our next destination - Beng Mealea.



Located some 77km from Siem Reap by road, Beng Mealea is a mainly unrestored temple in the middle of the jungle and is not a popular tourist destination. From Kbal Spean, it took our driver Xiao He about one and a half hours to reach there.





Inside the car driven by Xiao He



Since it was going to be a pretty long journey, I put on the sun shades on my side window to block out the afternoon sun. I thought a nap would do me some good!







What's more, there was a Tweetie bird pillow in the back seat so I made full use of that for my afternoon nap! Haha!







While Jam was busy chatting with Xiao He, his friend and I were busy napping throughout the whole journey. I woke up just in time to see that we have reached Beng Mealea.



There was an entrance fee at USD5 per person. As Beng Mealea is not considered a part of the Angkor Wat Archaeological Park, a separate entrance fee applies.





The long causeway leading to Beng Mealea temple ruins



After walking through a long causeway, I saw this notice board. It seemed that previously, there were mine fields in this area.







A seven-headed serpent sculpture or naga greeted us.







My first impression when I stepped into Beng Mealea was that the whole area was a pile of rubble! The temple was mostly in ruins! And I came all the way to see piles and piles of rocks!!







There were hardly any restoration done to the temple structures.







Although during our visit, I could see some workers doing some kind of restoration work.







Look at this entrance door being reinforced so that the whole structure does not collapse!







Some interesting carvings at the top of the entrance.







The place was in total ruin and at times I was not sure what I was stepping on. I was probably walking on the roof top on this one!







Climbing up and down those steps were quite dangerous at times. If you were to slip and fall, you would most likely end up with a broken leg! Or a broken skull depending on how you fall! Thus, I would not recommend visiting this place unless you are the adventurous kind!



I took pictures of some walls that were still standing.







Trees were growing on these walls.







Look at those tree roots! Sort of reminded me of Ta Prohm.







It was no wonder that we could spot very few tourists here. Who would want to travel for almost 2 hours to see piles of rocks? LOL! However, the temple ruin was surrounded by forests, making it quite cooling and not as hot as other temples we visited.



Walking along the edge of a tall wall structure on my right, I was trying to find a way down. It was quite tricky as fallen and displaced rocks made it hard for us to find the pathway down.







In the end, we managed to make it and ended back at the entrance of Beng Mealea. That was quite an adventure but that's about it. I did not think I gain anything visiting this place.







Incidentally, this would be the last temple we visited in Siem Reap. Are you breathing a sigh of relief? Haha!



So yes, enough with temples! I was looking forward to see the floating houses on Tonle Sap Lake and that's where we were headed next, so stay tuned!

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Kbal Spean : The River Of A Thousand Lingas

I saw penises in Cambodia. I really did. Possibly a thousand of them.

But it's not what you think.

I was not at some nudist beach or anything like that.

I was at Kbal Spean - home of the thousand penises! Or if you prefer a more polite and "kamasutra" term - home of the thousand lingas.

Oh I spotted some yonis too, and if you don't have any idea what a yoni is, well that's another polite term for vagina.

Now don't worry. This is not an 18SX post. Not at all, in fact this post is utterly children-friendly. It's meant to be educational and that's what I got when I hiked up the Kulen Hills with Jam and his friend on our third day in Siem Reap.



That's Jam with his cowboy hat, hiking ahead of me.

After spending a wonderful morning at Banteay Srei, our driver Xiao He brought us to this place where we needed to hike up 1.5 km in the forest to reach Kbal Spean.



Located on the southwest slope of the Kulen Hills, Kbal Spean is about 12 km from Banteay Srei where we came from, and 25 km from the main Angkorian temples.

It was not a particularly difficult climb but there were several spots that were quite steep, so if you plan to visit Kbal Spean, you would definitely need a good pair of shoes!

We came upon funny looking roots of a tree.



And caught sight of a giant worm ...or is it a millipede?



What is this? Ant's nest?



Since I had walked the jungle trail in FRIM and Bukit Gasing back in Malaysia, this was not too much of a challenge for me.



Nice view along the way up.



400 metres more to go!



They said it would take an average of 45 minutes to hike up the hill. I wondered how long it would take the three of us.

Just 100 metres more and we would be able to see lingas!



Finally, we reached Kbal Spean in 35 minutes! Not bad right? So does that mean we were quite fit? I think we should be proud of ourselves! LOL!

In front of us was a river and there were possibly more than a thousand lingas carved on the riverbed! Can you see them?



Now before you start having any dirty thoughts, let me just say that these lingas are actually considered sacred by the Hindus. The linga is a representation of the Hindu God Shiva and is a symbol of male creative energy.



See the 5 lingas in a square above? That square is called yoni and it represents the Hindu Goddess Shakti and Devi. It is also considered as the origin of life. This linga-yoni structure represents the abstract form of creation.

Besides linga and yoni, there were also carvings of Hindu Gods on the rocks.



This is Lord Vishnu in a reclining repose lying on the serpent God Ananta, with Goddess Lakshmi at his feet and Lord Brahma on a lotus petal.



Kbal Spean is often described as "a spectacularly carved riverbed, set deep in the jungle to the northeast of Angkor." Now that we were there, we could see the truth to this description.

There were serious photographers with tripods taking pictures of the amazing carvings.



A word of caution : Always look where you are going to prevent falling into holes or openings on the ground!



We ventured deeper upstream.



We came across an amazing carvings of Lord Vishnu on the rocks.



The carvings of Lord Vishnu from another angle.



A big linga-yoni structure on the riverbed.



As we moved back downstream, we could see thousands of lingas carved in the riverbed! Can you make out that reclining Buddha pose at the bottom part of this photo?



It appears that the flow of the Kbal Spean river over these religious carvings and sculptures sanctifies the river, which then flows into the Siem Reap River passing through the Angkorian temples and eventually into Tonle Sap Lake and from there into the Mekong River.



A carving on the rock depicting battle scenes perhaps?



Soon we reached a waterfall. I felt like standing below the waterfall like this man, but there was no time for that unfortunately.



I touched the water though, and it was cooling and refreshing.

On the way down from Kbal Spean, we could see more carvings but I did not take pictures of all of them. Is this a carving of Lord Vishnu? I am not too sure!



There were several lookout points along the hiking trail on the way down. This is a view captured from one of the lookout points and being afraid of heights, I did not dare to stand too near the edge!



We also discovered an individual linga in a yoni carving almost hidden by tree roots.



As we reached the foothill, I began to realise that I was hungry. All those climbing and walking must have taken its toll. It's time for lunch!

Coming Up Next : The Ruins Of Beng Mealea

A Wonderful Morning At Banteay Srei

There are three temples which you must visit in Cambodia. The first is Bayon Temple and the second is Angkor Wat Temple. The third in my opinion, is Banteay Srei Temple.



I visited Banteay Srei with my travel partners Jam and his friend on our third day in Siem Reap, Cambodia.



Located about 30km north east of the famous Angkor Wat Temple, Banteay Srei is considered an outlying temple since it is quite a distance from the main temple complex.







The entrance to the temple was rather nice.







We passed by rows of shops selling souvenirs and snacks.







It was a beautiful morning too, and I took some pictures of flowers. This is one of them. Do you like it?







I took another shot but focused on the background instead of the flower. It was fun! Simply love my camera!







We passed by what looked like padi field on the way to the temple. What a wonderful view! I would not mind taking a morning stroll here even if there is no temple to visit.







The name Banteay Srei means 'Citadel of the Women' which may be a reference to the small scale of the temple and also to its intricate and delicate carvings.



The unique thing about Banteay Srei temple is that it was built largely of red sandstone, which can be carved like wood. Because of this, Banteay Srei stands out among all the temples in Angkor Wat Archaelogical Park with its elaborate carvings which remain well preserved.



To reach the temple, we had to walk on a long, red sand causeway.







Built in the 10th century and dedicated to Hindu God Shiva, Banteay Srei consists of three concentric rectangular enclosures. Like most temples in Siem Reap, it is oriented towards the east.



This is the gate leading into the third enclosure. I had a hard time taking photos here as there were too many tourists blocking the view! So I waited for the tourists to disperse.







Look at the intricate carvings on the pediment! Don't know what a pediment is? That is the triangular section above the doorway.







A signboard on the right side of the gate detailing the Banteay Srei Conservation Project.







No smoking, no eating, no littering, no spitting, no plucking of flowers, no dogs...wow! That's a lot of "No"s! But what's that picture of a shirt on the left column? Does it mean one must wear a shirt and not walk around naked? LOL!



These are carvings on the columns. Is this an Angry Bird I see here? Haha!







Toothy monster representative of time known as kala above the "Angry Bird".







Inside the third enclosure, there was another red sandstone causeway leading towards the second enclosure.







There were quite a number of tourists that morning. I had to let them walk ahead of me so that I could take a decent photo.







This is another delicate carved doorway.







The intricate carvings on its column.







Look at this weird carvings on the pediment. I am pretty sure there is a story behind this carving. Unfortunately, since we did not have a tour guide with us, I don't know what the story is!







Another doorway featuring yet more intricate carvings.







So much details on the pediment! Though, can you see the body has a missing head?







This is the second enclosure. A tourist was busy taking pictures. And I was busy taking picture of him taking pictures! LOL!







Beautiful carvings could be found here too! I have to say that if you are into carvings, you simply must visit Banteay Srei!







A linga-yoni structure could be seen here.







Another red sandstone pathway leading to the first enclosure.







I thought the doorway of the first enclosure looked slightly different.







View of the first enclosure gate across the moat.







A close-up look at the unique looking gate.







Again intricate carvings could be seen on the pediment.







Awesome carvings with fine details!







Not sure what this is - just took a photo of it.







One of the nice structures inside the first enclosure.







More intricate carvings!







What animal is this?! Is it a bull?







This is possibly a depiction of God Shiva doing the dance. I may be wrong though.







This are the main structures in the first enclosure.







I wish someone can tell me the story behind all these carvings!







Perhaps you should get a tour guide if you plan to visit this temple and are interested in the history behind it.







Are these monkeys?







In any case, I really enjoyed looking at the structures here.







They were all pretty well maintained and preserved after so many centuries!







If you are an avid photographer, you will love this place!







Monkey-like creatures shot from another angle.







Maybe I am putting up too many photos of the same thing here but I can't help it! LOL!















A bas relief depicting monkey princes Vali and Sugreeva fighting with each other.







It had been a wonderful morning admiring all those intricate carvings at Banteay Srei. On our way out, we stopped by the shops selling souvenirs and snacks.







We did not buy anything except for coconut drinks to quench our thirst. Besides, the sellers at the stalls there kept pushing us to buy and I think we were pissed off. I would have bought something if they had not been so pushy!







Temple fatigue was beginning to set in on our third day in Siem Reap so I was glad that our three-day admission pass to the Angkorian temples would be expiring by the end of the day! It was also a huge relief to know that the next item on our itinerary would be a hike up to the waterfall at Kbal Spean.



Now that's just what I need to overcome temple fatigue!

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