Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
of the grounds the Life & Hope Association (
W
lifeandhopeangkor.org) runs a women's
sewing school
where you can talk to the students and shop for ready-made or bespoke
clothing (see p.155).
The riverside and Wat Preah Prom Rath
Siem Reap's nicest stroll is along the attractive
riverside walkway
, running along the
west side of the Siem Reap River from Psar Chas north for 1km or so to NR6. Just
north of Psar Chas you'll see the spires of the imposing
Wat Preah Prom Rath
on your
left. The temple may date right back to the thirteenth century, although what you see
now dates from after 1945, featuring an impressively kitsch cluster of gaudy buildings
festooned with Buddhist flags, and with a central vihara guarded by a pair of quaint,
snow-white bulls.
Wat Bo
Around 200m east of the river along Street 22
The eighteenth-century
Wat Bo
is the oldest and most appealing of Siem Reap's
Buddhist monasteries. The interior walls of the vihara, still in good condition, were
decorated in the nineteenth century with scenes from the
Reamker
incorporating
quaint scenes of everyday life - a Chinese merchant pu
ng on an opium pipe and
French colonial soldiers watching a traditional dance performance among them. The
pagoda is also home to a collection of old Buddha statues.
3
The Royal Gardens
At the northern end of the riverside walkway are the formal
Royal
Gardens
,
flanked by the venerable
Grand Hotel d'Angkor
to the north and the similarly
time-warped
Victoria Angkor
to the west. On the south side of the gardens,
a
shrine
to the sister deities Ang Chek and Ang Chom houses figurines of the
two - thought to have been Angkorian princesses - in brass and bronze. Ang Chek
is the taller of the two figures, both of which extend a hand in the characteristic
“Have no fear” (
abhaya
)
mudra
. The statues were originally situated in the
Gallery of a Thousand Buddhas at Angkor Wat and later hidden from the eyes of
invaders and treasure-hunters by successive generations of monks, being moved
repeatedly before finally arriving in their current shrine in 1990. They are now
heaped with offerings daily.
Just to the west, now surrounded by a tra
c circle and marked by a huge tree in the
middle of the road, is a shrine to
Ya Te p
, a local spirit said to bring protection and luck
to the Siem Reap area. The offerings left at the shrine are sometimes quite extravagant
- whole cooked chickens are not unknown.
Angkor National Museum
Vithei Charles de Gaulle/Angkor Wat Rd, 1.5km north of the centre • Daily 8.30am-6.30pm • $12, students and children
under 1.2m tall $6, audioguide $3, discounts sometimes available for online reservations •
T
063 966601,
W
angkornationalmuseum.com
A visit to Siem Reap's
Angkor National Museum
is an essential adjunct to a visit to the
temples themselves - the only downside is the extortionate entrance fee. Choice pieces
of ancient Khmer sculpture are beautifully exhibited in vast galleries complete with
explanatory signboards. Introductory and multimedia presentations provide
orientation, explain the wealth of statuary on display, and give background to
Cambodian history, heritage and religion. The fabulous gallery of 1000 Buddha
images, in particular, should not be missed.
