Visiting the guardians at Banteay Srei

When I visited Beijing and Seoul a couple of years/months ago I said to myself that I have enough of temples for a lifetime. That's why when Olive and Rose invited me to Siem Reap I was thinking "it must be the same temples din!". 

Well, of course I was very wrong. Hahaha. Siem Reap just totally blew me away with it's awesomeness man made structures! 

Hail to the Khmer Kingdom

Together with my travel buddies Olive, Rose and Gilbert we head to Siem Reap from Phnom Penh after a grueling 6 hour road trip (note:not-advisable-to-take). And after our relaxing rest at our hotel the next day we we're ready to traverse the wide area of Siem Reap temples. First stop: Banteay Srei.

The entrance fee for this part of Siem Reap is $40.00 per person, quite expensive for a normal traveller but once you get inside the complex sulit narin ang bayad =).

Main entrance of Banteay Srei (w/ Olive)

Siem Reap (or most probably the whole Cambodia) are mostly swamp areas, hence the abundance of crocodiles and rice fields and what not, that's why Bantay Srei is surrounded by waters. This area was also covered by the foliage and turned into a jungle after the Khmer left Angkor Wat. 

Thank God for the French and local archeologist they have discovered the lost kingdom of the Khmers and gave the world the most treasured structure dedicated to Hindu and Buddhist religions. And it provides the best cultural history for the people of Cambodia as well.

One thing that strikes me the most about Banteay Srei was the intricate sculpture the've made on their temple facade. Simply amazing!

Traditional Khmer writings

Trees and foliage still are abundant in this area

As expected there we're a lot of tourist in BS, mostly Chinese and Koreans. It's a little bit crowded when all those tourist are inside BS. 

Framed Turistas

Elephants and Buddha together =)

While the rest of the gang are busy having photo-shoots and taking pictures I've noticed that the windows of traditional Khmer contains a square window with baluster inside. Nice idea i thought for my future house =) LoL!

At the center of the BS the main temple is located, which is off-limits to tourist. It's nice to take picture also of what inside the temple but the four monkey like statue guard in front looks very intimidating.

Front View

Side View =)

Though the place are like wetlands, i haven't experienced any mosquito bite while we are in Siem Reap. Though tourist must be extra careful in walking in order to avoid muds and shallow waters hahaha

Binibining Kampuchea (a.k.a. Rose)

Next on our itinerary is the mountain-like temple of Pre Rup. It's just a simple temple yet the lion statue at every corner is so awesome! The steps on the stairs are high also, same as the stairs in some part of Great Wall of China. Kakapagod umakyat!!

And I have to admit this is one of my favorite photo of all time! LoL!

RAWR!

Stairway to heaven

Again, the windows are just the same as those in BS. Olive taking the shots.

View from the top. Marvelous view!

Most of the faces of the lion statues are already gone. Most probably taken by thief or destroyed by weather. Still the statue reminds us how grandeur the temple was during its heyday.

Inside the temple. Sun directly shine on the buddha below

P.S. may bayad na $1.00 pagpasok sa loob!!!!

Overlooking the kingdom

"Kingdom come and go, but the guardians of the temple remains"

Last leg of the trip was the visit to the Khmer king's swimming pool daw.It's like a mini lake inside the complex. In fairness it does have the official signage of the king's ownership (the lion statues) and the stones at the banks have intricate design also. Good thing they re-arrange this area, such a good place to relax after the tiring day =)

Funny scene happened here in the pool area between Olive, Rose and the little girl bottled water vendor. It's so funny i think I will remind it to the girls everytime we see each other (ikaw ba naman bantaan ng bagets na "you will die if you don't buy my water!"), but i have to admit the street hawkers are really persuasive! Talk about ending our day with a hearty laugh. =).

More about Siem Reap soon!

The Charming Phnom Penh

Who would have thought that the former capital which was the center of crime against humanity in the 1970's can emerged as one of the most charming city that i've ever visited, which simply mesmerize me.

As the old saying goes: "To see is to believe". And I did believe that Phnom Penh (PP) is indeed a charming city.

Our original plan was to go to Siem Reap upon arrival in Saigon but due to last minute travel changes we opt to travel from Saigon then stop over for at least 4 hours in PP then depart by bus to Siem Reap. Don't we jus love unplanned trips. :D

Welcome to Phnom Penh

Before the trip, Mikko told me to visit S21 at PP, which actually I don't have any idea what was it all about. Turns out Olive was also looking forward to visit the same place. Coincidence!

Pose muna bago mag travel =P

Upon arrival in PP, we drop our bag at the bus station's office and immediately hired a tuktuk to tour us in PP. Itinerary was to get lunch first then proceed to S21. For a haggle price of $8 each (we we're 4) it was a bargain.

Our late lunch was in the busy boulevard overlooking the mighty Mekong river. The place is popular with foreigners, thats why our driver brought us to that place. 

Mekong River at glance

Gutom na si Gilbert =)

Shin Foo is the place to be

We ate healthy food. Yehey!

As a kid, I've seen the movie "The Killing Fields" but I don't actually understand what it meant. Little did I knew it was based on a true story about the Khmer Rouge versus the citizens of Cambodia. Most of the tortured we're held on this school turned torture camp right in the middle of PP. Afraid!

The famous S21

Are you ready to enter?

Entrance fee is (i think) $10, and it is one of the major tourist attraction in PP. Bus after bus are parked outside the premises and a LOT of westerners are visiting the place (and I think the whole PP itself).

The first thing that will greet you in S21 are the graves of some murdered people. It is near the main entrance hence you can see these graves instantly. These are the graves of the last batch of prisoners who were murdered in S21 before their handlers fled the area.

Since the place used to be a school, each room was a torture chamber for prisoners. When you enter each room you;ll see some grotesque photos of murdered prisoners. Sad.

Sample of water, bed and body torture machine

Another creepy side of the museum is the hundreds of photos of the prisoners who was detained in S21. Men, women, children and babies are photographed with their cell number. According to one manuscripts the people who are detained range from ordinary people, engineers, teachers, monks, politicians etc. Very very creepy =(.

May you Rest In Peace

There are two ways which you can see the facilty, 1). by tour guide 2) by your own. We opt for the latter one because my companions easily get bored on tours hahaha! Thank God for the tour map and description on each room, its easy to understand what this and that is all about =).

We spend some time on the first building's second floor,  at ito nakita namin sa baba =P.

The government didn't remove the barricades, metal wire screen, etc. to create a "real" touch of the place.

The garote are still installed on the school ground, also the huge jars (which contains disgusting things) are still there as well. 

A lot of infos are still located on the back portion of the school premises but unfortunately I cannot stand taking picture on it, paying respect to the dead nalang siguro. But I believe justice has been served to those perpetrators of the massacre and torture in S21. Thank God.

After spending about an hour in S21 and making our way back to the bus office station, we we're off to Siem Reap for a roughly 8 hour bus ride to the Exotic capital in the north!

But we did return to PP on our 4th day, but this time we tour the Royal Palace area naman. Nice!

Welcome to the palace! Rawr!

The place may not be as grandiose as the Imperial Palaces of the Chinese, Palaces by the river of the Thai royalties nor the magnificent castles of the Brits but the Cambodian Royal Family has some tricks up on its sleeves. The edifice are gold coated (i think!) hence the aura of shining shimmering splendor (i.e. mukha silang mayaman hehehe).

Lots of Buddhas around the palace grounds.

Coz you've got GOLD! Always believe in your soul. You got the power to go, your indestructible.... 

(Guess what song that is)

One of the ancient masterpiece in the palace is this 18th century wall painting, which was under preservation by the palace staff. Really worth saving if you ask me.

Cambodia is famous for it's lotus flower hence the grounds are littered with these colorful flowers also. It's my first time to see one and I must admit it's so beautiful =)

Inside one of the rooms of the palace are the royal families collection or arts like mask, paintings, dolls, etc. which is actually quite good. It's nice for them to share it with tourist and commoner alike. The pricey entrance fee is worth it =P

The family boast also some paintings and sculptor about elephants. Well they do have lots and lots of elephants so why not depict them in the arts diba. #silanangmadamingelepante

Hey, look ma,I'm this tall!

A miniature Angkor Wat can be seen at the back of the palace. Ang galing!

Mini me (Angkor Wat)

Our trip was a good trip because I have the most wonderful people who's with me the whole trip. Thank you Olive, Rose and Gilbert for making this trip a memorable one =)

Me and Gilbert at one of the temple

Olive at the house of elephants

Rose in front of a Cambodian pyramid

Next post...the Siem Reap adventure