Banteay Srei Temple (Lady Temple)

Day 1 Click HERE

Day 2 Click HERE

Day 3 Click HERE

Day 4 Phrea Khan Temple Click HERE

Day 4 Ta Nei and Bayon Temple Click HERE

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Destination: Siem Reap, Cambodia

Duration: 5D4N, 14 Feb to 18 Feb 2019

Mode of Travel: Self-organised.  We had 3 private vans for transport and local guide (www.facebook.com/Jeepxplr) who's now a very dear friend to us
Flight: Jetstar

Hotel: Khmer Mansion Boutique Hotel (Apsara Double Pool View Suite - $379) and one night at Khmer Mansion Residence

www.khmermansionresidence.com

Weather: Warm and dry around 30°C
Currency: USD most of the time though Cambodian Riel can be use

Time difference: 1 hour behind Singapore

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17.02.2019

I told my guide and driver to find any place for lunch as long as it's convenient along the way to Banteay Srei Temple.  So they did and stopped by over here:

Rom Chang Angkor Restaurant is non-aircon, rusty ambiance which probably can house about a 100pax.

It's quite a pleasant place to dine and rest, I could see both locals and tourists here.

Serves mainly Khmer dishes, we ordered quite a bit for 3 of us.

 Amok In Coconut USD4.00

It's Khmer veg curry.

Pra Her Khmer Soup $6.75

Soup veg with ikan bilis and some fish slices.

Stir fried beef with long beans USD6.50

Beef slices a bit tough...

Omelette USD3.75

Egg dishes wouldn't go wrong.

Here's the "address", recommended if you are on the way to Banteay Srei Temple.

It was like about or less than 5mins drive from the restaurant to Banteay Srei Temple.  If you were to go from Angkor Wat, it's about 20km away.  Vehicles in Siem Reap weren't as fast, so probably takes about 40mins drive or so.

  This temple is the most precious temple to the Cambodians.  Could tell it's importance when I saw a Welcome Centre specially built at the entrance of the temple.

The actual photo was very dark as I was facing the sun, that's the best I could edit.  The little temple looked dark here, but it's actually in shades of pink.

Read information online, the original name of the temple was called Tribhuvanamahesvara, which I don't know how to pronounce.   Now known as Banteay Srei meaning “citadel of the women” or, “citadel of beauty”.

The name no doubt, derived from the pink colours of the limestones in this mini temple and the (extremely) elaborate decorative carvings of many devatas (minor female deities) on the walls and doors.

The reddish soil became redder against the sun and the temple probably seemed redder on the red ground.  It was burning warm in the mid noon, enduring was still worth it.

There were "Do Not Touch" sign boards around, but no fencing up.  I really hope visitors behaves themselves and do not take this as an advantage.

It would be our lost if we could only admire the carvings over fences.

The extremely detailed, tiny and intricate carvings made my jaw drop.  The carvings here were the most beautiful compared to other temples I had visited.

My guide said that this temple is their precious gem, it's the most wonderful gift their ancestors had left for them.  As he was saying these to me, his face was lit up with pride.

Not all areas were in pink, there were some in beige.

All the doors were made for my height while most adults had to bend down to walked through.

This little pink lady temple is really cute!

Close-up on one of the door frame.

Just how did they carve by hand?  How?  So beautiful so beautiful, why so beautiful!

 The carvings were amazing to me and I took many photos of the different towers.

I am still admiring Banteay Srei from my own photos now.  But for those who aren't interested (like my hubby), the following photos may look all the same to you.

The some kneeling statues were taken away and kept in National Museum of Phnom Penh.

Most kneeling status here were replicas.

There were some shops at near the car park.  Business were really bad here.

All the shops were selling more or less the same stuff, so it's less attractive.  But if you see something you like, you will find that the prices are actually quite reasonable.  They didn't mark up the prices even though it's a tourist area.

In summary, I had visited 4 temples: Phrea Khan, Ta Nei, Bayon and Banteay Srei from 8.30am to 3pm, including lunch.  Previously had done with Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm.

As mentioned before I will have to do Phrea Khan again.  Since the tix is so expensive, I might as well go for more along with Phrea Khan.  I found Beng Mealea:

Photo from: https://navutudreams.com/2014/07/11/beng-mealea-angkors-best-temple/

No concrete plans yet but this will be in the list.

Next post will be short.  When we drove back to the city, I had a spa for the first time in Siem Reap and had the best dinner along the road side!  Hope to get done with Siem Reap quickly, I am excited to get start with Okinawa.