February 24 - Banteay Srei, Siem Reap, Cambodia to Laos

Today, we had a fifty-minute bus ride north through the countryside to visit the temple called Banteay Srei. Banteay Srei means “citadel of the women,” which probably relates to the intricacy of the carvings, many of which are of women in Hindu mythology. The temple was consecrated in 967 AD and is unusual in that it was not built by a king. It is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. It is also different in that it was constructed from red sandstone, which has allowed the intricate carvings to survive.

Along the way, Heung provided some information on Cambodian life including his life in particular. First, greetings do not involve shaking hands but holding your hand together in front of you pointing up like a lotus flower. Your hands are held in front of your chest because that is where your heart is. Also, the heart is as pure as a lotus flower. You would say “Arun suesday,” for hello or “Namaste,” which means “I bow to the divine in you.” You also bow in greeting. For greeting a higher-level person, you would hold your hands at nose level and bow more deeply. For a king or a god, you would raise your hands above your head and bow extra deep, perhaps even prostrating oneself. This would be to show respect and also ensure that you did not look at the king’s face, which is forbidden.

Heung is one of eleven siblings. As noted earlier, his family lived in Siem Reap until the rise of the Khmer Rouge, when all were forced into the country. Some of his siblings died during this time. His father was held in jail and almost put to death during this time after an official accused him of being a CIA agent, when he was actually acting as a sort of doctor. Fortunately, this was cleared up.

Cambodia as a country achieved independence from France in 1955 and joined the United Nations at that time. The king was very popular, but a military coup involving Pol Pot and then Lon Nol established a republic of sorts from 1970 through 1975 with US support. At the end of the Vietnam War, the Khmer Rouge seized power from 1975 through 1979. At that time, Vietnamese forces invaded and ended the Khmer Rouge reign. As noted, the time of the Khmer Rouge was typified by closed borders and high numbers of deaths. Currently, the country has a king who is popular, apolitical, single, and a good dancer!

Arriving at Banteay Srei, we learned that the site has been open for touring since 1998. It is not a large temple in comparison to what we have seen, but the carvings are amazing. The French found the ruins in 1914, when they were in a swamp. As we walked through the site we saw many illustrations of Hindu stories. We saw Lakshmi at the second pediment with two elephants. We saw Indra with three elephants. In the center we saw statues of half lions/half men plus monkeys. We saw a carving of Shiva being shaken on a mountain. There is his wife Parvati, Ganesh, a son of Shiva who is a “happy god,” and Skanda, another son who is a warrior. There is also a carving of a woman who was “too pretty,” plus another of monkey brothers fighting. The imagery was a lot to take in. Obviously, not knowing the Hindu religion, we couldn’t appreciate all of the story telling involved in the carvings, but we could appreciate their beauty and how wonderfully well preserved they were. In this way, Banteay Srei was just as impressive as the larger ruins we had seen.

As we returned in the bus to Siem Reap, we stopped at one of A&K’s philanthropy projects. This project involves putting in wells for groups of families to have access to clean drinking water. Each one costs about $450. There were a lot of cute kids in this grouping of familes. We saw a lot of houses built up on stilts. Heung told us that this is to keep the homes dry during times of floods. Also, during hot weather, sleeping in the open air under the house provides a spot with good air flow. Sleepers will chop up lemongrass, boil it, and spread it around the house to repel mosquitoes. Then it was time to return to the city center and have lunch.

Lunch was downtown in a restaurant called Champey. We started with a shared appetizer of shrimp cakes, which were delicious. Then Roy had Khmer style noodles with vegetables and beef, while Rob had lemongrass chicken – both really good (and shared)! 

After lunch we had a few minutes to shop and see the downtown area. We bought a few small brass figures (two Buddhas and a turtle), plus a bar of lemongrass soap.

Then it was a quick ride to Siem Reap’s small but nice airport where we flew through check-in and security. With a few extra minutes before boarding Roy found a nice green soapstone carving of a naga (seven headed serpent who protects Buddha), so he bought it. Then we had an uneventful flight to Luang Prabang in Laos. Landing we immediately noticed the smell and look of smoke everywhere in this small city. We later learned that the local farmers were burning their rice fields, which they do every year prior to the rainy season. Since it was after dark, we passed by storefronts that were closed for the day. We noticed that many of the stores were not secured by doors or anything, just kind of a rope pulled over the entrance. Is there no crime? We were later told that there was no threat of theft.

We checked into our hotel, the Belmond La Résidence Phou Vao, and then enjoyed a late supper at the hotel’s fancy restaurant. We had a nice table overlooking the pool with a wonderful view of Mount Phousi. It is in the middle of the city and is impressive with its temple all lit up at night. The food was light and delicious. We had papaya salad ordered with a small amount of spice (which was still pretty spicy by American standards) and raw tuna laap (similar to Thai larb). Our charming waiter was nice to talk to (I think he wanted to practice his English) and gave first-class service.