Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
DAMBANG KROGNUING
While you're in Battambang you may see two distinctive
statues
relating to a bizarre legend
surrounding the town's name, which literally translates as “lost stick”. According to the tale, a
man named
Dambang Krognuing
turned black after eating rice stirred with a black stick; he
then deposed the king and assumed the throne. The erstwhile king's son subsequently
defeated Dambang Krognuing with the aid of a magical flying horse, despite a vain attempt by
the interloper to hurl his black stick at the prince's steed. A massive statue of Dambang
Krognuing decorates the tra
c circle on the way out of town towards the airport, while a
statue of the prince on his flying horse sits at the north end of Street 3.
2
Chinese temple
Street 1, one block south of Psar Nat
Easily missed during a walk along the riverfront is the sixteenth- or seventeenth-
century
Chinese temple
, a diminutive one-storey structure (restored in 1921) wedged
in tightly between the surrounding shops. The temple's dark-red doors and heavily
ridged roof tiles edged with ceremonial dragons look quite incongruous amid the area's
colonial architecture. Inside the temple, the rather ferocious-looking god, Kwan Tai, is
worshipped at a small altar; despite his looks he's revered for his loyalty and integrity.
A few doors south of the Chinese temple, look out for the florid mansion housing the
National Bank of Cambodia
- one of Battambang's finest colonial buildings.
Battambang Museum
Street 1 • Mon-Fri 8-11am & 2-5pm • $1; no photography
he modest
Battambang
Museum
comprises a gloomy hall full of statues and carvings
dating from the seventh through the twentieth centuries - many are of considerable
interest, despite the drab setting and lack of information. Exhibits include fine
Buddhas along with various gods, nagas, yaksha (demons), lions, lingas and a number
of intricate lintels, many of them featuring Indra riding his three-headed elephant
Airavata, a common motif in Khmer art. Look out too for the thirteenth-century statue
of a bodhisattva “tattooed” with a thousand Buddhas, and a well-worn depiction of
Yama on a buffalo.
Wat Dhum Rey Sor
Street 3, behind Battambang Museum
One of the two oldest temples
in Battambang,
Wat Dhum Rey Sor
has been restored
several times since its construction in 1848. The “Pagoda of the White Elephant” (as its
name translates) is christened after the pairs of white elephant statues flanking the
eastern and western entrances to the vihara. The base of the vihara is decorated with a
series of colourfully painted, low-relief carvings depicting scenes from the
Ramayana
- look out for Hanuman riding a steam engine on the east wall.
Wat Piphithearam
Street 3, one block north of Psar Nat market
One of Battambang's oldest temples, the venerable
Wat Piphithearam
is best
approached from the south, where the gates are guarded by two
yeaks
(giants). The
temple's monks claim that these used to sport threatening expressions, though now
they wear a benign look - a strange example of the Khmer belief in metamorphosis.
Many of the monks here speak English and will give you a tour of the vihara (in
exchange for letting them practise their language skills), which features some elaborate
modern murals illustrating the life of Buddha.
