Life is Better with Mayonnaise: Cambodia: the pink temple

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Cambodia: the pink temple

When I arrived in Cambodia, I had very little knowledge of the country, city, area and temples I had traveled to see. But I learned a lot.

One of the epics carved into the walls of Angkor Wat. The
wall carvings were all "depicted about" epic stories and tales
from Hinduism.

The Angkor temples were primarily built as Hindu worship temples and the walls of each temple are covered with unique carvings of stories that are important to Hindu mythology. I learned all about the carvings from our tour guide, Piseth, who was very helpful. He spoke very good English and was very patient with our questions about the different legends or architectural wonders he was pointing out.

The apsara carved into the walls at
Angkor Wat. Apsara were believed
to be angelic dancerwomen who
accompanied the gods. In the carvings
"depicted about" the apsara, they
were very beautiful, with lots of jewelry
and ornate clothing. Also, big boobs.

For example, at Angkor Wat, which is a square, each wall has a different carving that is "depicted about" a story or epic from Hindu mythology. (That's how Piseth would say it: "Charlie and BF, this is a carved wall. This carving is depicted about the Hindu god Vishnu.) One of the famous stories in Hindu mythology is the churning of the ocean. It was shown in many places throughout multiple temples: on the entrance way to Angkor Thom, on the wall of Angkor Wat, within the Bayon, etc.

This story, along with the story of the Ramayana, an epic which includes details on prince Rama, appeared in several places, including Angkor Wat and Banteay Srei.

Me in another doorway. Not sure
why I'm so into taking photos like this....

Banteay Srei is a much smaller temple, by comparison, and is the only temple in the complex built out of pink sandstone, rather than gray sandstone. There are many scholars who believe this temple to have been specifically for the women of the empire, due to its location (far out), smaller design and more intricate carvings and decor. We visited Banteay Srei the day after visiting Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm. It was a little farther out of town, so it was a bit of a drive, but it was very beautiful.