Afternoon among the Ruins ~ Wat Ek Phnom, Battambang

Posted in Cambodia,Every Day Life,History,Nature,Religious Practice

The ruins of Wat Ek Phnom in the afternoon light.

Khmer ruins are just magic!

Moss and lichen make their homes on the piles of tumbled stones, trees grow up and through fallen buildings, holding walls together with their roots, light and shadow play across the whole scene.

Wat Ek Phnom, just outside Battambang, may not be the best known of the Angkor ruins, but it is a popular spot for Cambodians to pay their respects and to picnic. And after a day of smiling ’till my face hurt while taking people-pictures, I found the ruins a wonderful sanctuary of quiet and calm.

Carved sandstone block, fallen from a Khmer ruin

Richly decorated building bricks lie in a tumbled heap.

Two young Khmer men at an Angkor-period ruin.

Khmer visitor to Wat Ek Phnom sit among the ruins.

One of the beauty of these more remote sites is that you are free to clamber over the rubble and through the remains, unhindered by scaffolding or warning signs.

Through the doorway of an Angkok style ruin to a green pond.

Looking out the doorway...

Looking through old Khmer ruins at a new way/temple.

From the old ruins ~ to the new Wat.

Red wooden Spirit Houses in front of the ruins of Wat Ek Phnom

As with elsewhere in Cambodia, the modern practice of animist traditions is maintained in the form of colourful spirit houses.

Modern Khmer temple: The new Wat Ek Phnom

The new Wat Ek Phnom is on the same site.

Golden mythical rooster on a banister.

Mythical roosters decorate the banisters of the new wat.

Two khmer Buddhist monks, sitting.

It's as if the young monks just sit around, waiting for the light to fall and the tourists with cameras to come...

Portrait: Young Khmer Buddhist monks

Young monks.

A concrete room full of buddha or abbot statues

A new hall full of Buddhas and Abbots.

Buddhist statues outside a grilled window.

Guardians at the gate...

According to the Lonely Planet: “Construction of the giant Buddha statue next door has been stopped by the government because, they say, it mars the site’s timeless beauty.” This is interesting, because the giant Buddha looked pretty finished to us.

Giant white seated buddha state against a cloudy sky.

The giant Buddha at Wat Ek Phnom looked finished against the incoming weather.

Standing yellow buddhist statues in a moat.

Standing watch.

Black and white Butterfly in red Cosmos

Life on the ground: a butterfly in the cosmos.

View: Large seated Buddha flanked by standing statues, cloudy sky.

Buddha in the clouds : Wat Ek Phnom

Storm Clouds over the new Wat Ek Phnom

There is an afternoon storm coming - time to leave Wat Ek Phnom.

Text: Safe Travels! UrsulaTruly, the quiet before the storm! As the tropical clouds rolled in with amazing speed, we clambered into our tuk-tuks, hoping to make it back to the hotel safe and dry.

One out of two is not bad. 🙂

Safe travels.

Photos: 23 July 2011

Posted in Cambodia,Every Day Life,History,Nature,Religious PracticeTags: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

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  • Anna :o] - April 14, 2012 - 4:40 pm

    Beautiful images of a beautiful place – thank you.

    Anna :o]ReplyCancel

  • dietmut - April 15, 2012 - 9:49 am

    ich habe wieder sehr genossen von dieser Serie. Liebe Grüsse, DietmutReplyCancel

    • Ursula - April 15, 2012 - 11:22 am

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Dietmut. 🙂ReplyCancel

  • Signe - April 16, 2012 - 4:32 am

    as always, a pleasure to see where you’ve beenReplyCancel

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