by

Banteay Srei and Landmine Museum

We started the afternoon at Banteay Srei after a rather delicious Cambodian lunch. The Banteay Srei is a 10th century temple that is about 25 kilometers north east of Angkor Thom. Although smaller and only one level high, this temple is very beautiful. It is made from red sandstone, which is harder and more suited to carvings than the sandstone used for the other temples. Moreover, it is the carvings that really make this temple special — they are spectacular and still in very good condition, even though they are over 1000 years old. The temple is also known as the Lady Temple. No one seemed sure exactly why it got this name, but one suggestion is that the carvings are so fine and could only have been done by the hand of a lady. As we walked around the temple vicinity, the tour guide enlightened us.

The Entrance: Only Shiva and Vishnu carvings have been incorporated on the entrance. The French restored this temple and the statues have been preserved in the National Museum in Phnom Penh. The entire area is paved with laterite stone.

IMG_7819

IMG_7820
Pilgrims took rest in these rest houses before praying.

IMG_7827
The main temple consists of three towers and is surrounded by a moat.

IMG_7829
Yoni – The female sexual organ. Linga is believed to have sat in the middle of this structure.

IMG_7830
The center of the temple carving depicts the following: Laxmi is covered with milk and is being washed off by two elephants so that she is clean enough to get married to Vishnu.

IMG_7832
Bull Nandi (Bull of Shiva) always faces the temple.

IMG_7833
The statues are only one year old. They were remade without arms because the original statues that were excavated had broken arms.

IMG_7837
The library is always situated adjacent to the temple. As per tradition, the pilgrims always went to the temple first and then came out and entered the library.

After visiting Bantaey Srei temple, we visited the Cambodia Landmine Museum located 20 minutes drive from the town of Siem Reap.
Master Class 371

This museum was founded by Akira, local Cambodian who has been independently clearing landmines throughout Cambodia and more recently near the Thailand border for many years.

The sad history of Cambodia involves land mines. There was an article describing that there are 2 million land mines still buried in throughout the country. And the biggest problem is that no one bothered to document where they were placed. As a result, people are still being killed or injured today.

Master Class 375

Personally, I was impressed by what Akira had contributed to Cambodia. Akira is the founder of the landmine museum. He was taken as a boy soldier at thirteen years of age to serve Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge and later defected to serve in the Cambodian army. Part of his job for both sides was laying landmines—unmapped and strategically indiscriminate. Later on, he declared a mission “I want to make my country safe for my people” and built an organization mainly provides education and training to rural people about landmine safety, clearing mines and unexploded ordnance from various provinces in Cambodia, and training soldiers to deactivate and clear landmines.

Master Class 385

I understand that it will take time but hopefully one day, Cambodia will become free of landmines.

Saurabh & Yosuke

18,688 thoughts on “Banteay Srei and Landmine Museum”

  11. BetYek
    سایت شرط بندی انفجار هات بت

    این پست درباره بازی انفجار هات بت HotBet است. بازی انفجار در سایت هات بت خیلی جذاب و پولساز تر مثل سایت شرط بندی وان ایکس بت است که اکثریت طرفداران سایت هات بت در این بازی شرط بندی می کنند

  20. Your specialist web development company, RedBuffer Ai, offers specialised services. We combine creativity and technology to create captivating websites that generate revenue for your company.Anaylsis Marketing

  21. Yes! Excellent motivating blog. I am genuinely inspired from your efforts and appreciate your writing skills. Thanks for nicely sharing. Keep it up! I want to read more articles like these topics.
    Buy Offplan Property

  26. This substance is everything seen as bewildering and inventive. I have been picking an institutional move and this has helped me with one perspective. cartoonze

  33. Made up of the highest quality essential oil and homeopathic ingredients, H-Warts Formula is gentle on the skin and safe for adults and children over 4 yrs. Simple to apply and fast acting!* warts oil

  34. You can certainly see your expertise within the work you write. The sector hopes for even more passionate writers such as you who aren’t afraid to mention how they believe. At all times go after your heart. golfmark

  35. ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool driven by AI technology that allows
    you to have human-like conversations and much more with the chat gpt login free.

  36. ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool driven by AI technology that allows
    you to have human-like conversations and much more with the chat gpt login free.

    Chat GPT Login

  37. Hello there, I discovered your site by way of Google whilst searching for a related topic, your website came up, it seems to be good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks. cloudelabs

  38. Immediate Alpha requires a minimum deposit and we recommend you stick to the minimum deposit. You can always invest more later, or when you start generating your first profits. coingpt

  48. “Your blog is like a daily dose of sunshine, brightening my life with gratitude and positivity. Thank you for the inspiration and wisdom you share.”bra

  50. It’s not that I want to duplicate your website, but I really like the design and style. Could you let me know which design are you using? Or was it custom made? wow hoki

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *