Banteay Srei

This is Banteay Srei.

I came very close to not seeing this temple. It is located about 15 miles away from the main cluster of Angkor locations. Most people travel there via tuk-tuk, but I wasn't sure I wanted to make the long trip alone.  Enter my new friends from Pub Street!  One of the girls I met was travelling in Cambodia with her mom and step-dad. At dinner she mentioned they were going to Banteay Srei the next day and I casually invited myself along. I felt so rude doing it, but she was super-nice and said they absolutely had room in their tuk-tuk for a fourth person. We made plans and they picked me up at my hotel the next morning. 

Banteay Srei is primarily built from pink sandstone, casting a pinkish hue on the whole site. It has some of the most elaborate carvings of any of the Angkor sites. The intricate beauty and small size of the buildings within the site have lead to the nicknames "Citadel of Beauty" or "Women's Temple."

It was built in the 10th century - much earlier than Angkor Wat or Angkor Thom. Banteay Srei was constructed by a counsellor to one of the kings as a Hindu temple. It was largely abandoned between the 14th and 20th centuries. The temple gained visibility in the archaeological community after a well-publicized theft of some statues from the site (that were later confiscated and returned).  Theft has been common at these temples and lots of Khmer artwork from Angkor can be found at museums, in both Phnom Penh and around the world. 

This group of monks arrived during our visit - they were very young, probably teenagers. I loved that I was able to get a few photos of the bright orange robes in the temple area. Some of the most iconic photos of Cambodia are similar scenes of monks at these historical sites.  They were very casual in their manner, almost like kids on a field trip. 

Really glad in retrospect that I was able to make the trip to see this temple - it was one of my favorites!