To introduce Cambodia’s ancient Royal Road network to those not familiar with it, there are several roads emanating out of Angkor that feature stone masonry infrastructure, including bridges and temples along with ponds and basins primarily dating back to the 12th century, with a broad range of activity seen between the 11th century to around … Read more
If you have followed this website or the Facebook page for any amount of time, then you’ll well understand how much time I spend on archival research. Let me tell you, it’s way more than I should be! It’s hugely addictive which is often fuelled by gems like this. Le mystère d’Angkor is a wonderous … Read more
Recently, I wrote an introduction to the Cambodian Water Festival (here) and I thought it’d be cool to do a little digging through the French archives for some historical notes and see what comes up. The first account I could track down was that by Louis Delaporte in his 1880 publication, Voyage au Cambodge. L’Architecture … Read more
Recently I had to head to Phnom Penh to pick-up a new passport, and how could I not turn that into a tour? Of course, I did. Chanthim came along and this time, and considering it was going to be sealed roads we just took one bike, this time the Honda Dream. It was a … Read more
This was a short tour from Sep 22 – 24, 2023, following the scribbled notes on a map by Henri Parmentier in the 1930s, turns out it’s an intriguing heritage trail. As you likely well know, there is a large volume of maps available in various sections of the EFEO website much of which comes … Read more
This tour almost replicates my first big tour, the Red Dot Tour in early 2002 but this time I’d have Chanthim come along for the ride and this time, shifting focus from the ancient temples to more contemporary Buddhist wonders. To see all the sites visited on both tours and other shorter trips see the … Read more
Located 40km north of Phnom Penh on the west bank of the Tonle Sap River at the confluence of Kandal, Kampong Chhnang, and Kampong Speu is the historical area of Longvek-Oudong that was home to Cambodia’s capital in periods of the 16th century to the mid-19th century long after leaving Angkor. It was a period … Read more
Battambang city, located about 160km by road to the southwest of Siem Reap and Angkor Wat, is culturally rich and charming, featuring the best food in the country, several important ancient temples, beautiful heritage pagodas, and also French colonial heritage. We’ll focus on the Buddhist pagodas today, introducing a little of their heritage and the … Read more
This trip, from Mar 6 – 11 2023 would cover some remote and still-standing sites in Preah Vihear that we haven’t visited to date. It was also a special moment for us, by the end, ticking off our goal to visit every standing temple (at least those with more than 50% of their structure still standing), and, … Read more
Taking advantage of good weather, before the hot season kicks in around mid-March, we went on another journey for five days from Feb 23 – 28 covering some of the remote sites not visited on previous trips in Preah Vihear province. I’d meet up with Chanthim in Stoung and we’d head off once again on our trusty … Read more
In previous posts, we have explored many of the Theravadin Buddhist structures within the Angkor area, particularly Angkor Thom, which were created possibly in the last stages of the Angkor era (around the 14th century) into the post-Angkor era (15th century and beyond) as Theravdin Buddhism became the state religion which it remains till this … Read more
Along with being the capital of Cambodia, and having numerous attractions, markets, and vibrant food culture, an oft-overlooked destination is the array of Buddhist temples (pagoda) in the city. Whether a pilgrim of the Buddhist faith or just someone interested in Cambodian culture, heritage, and architecture, the city’s pagodas have something unique to offer. Intro … Read more
Sema (Sima/Siema) are the objects used to demarcate the sacred or ritual area of a Theravadin Buddhist site, a form of Buddhism unique to Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Laos, Burma, and Thailand, and also the current state religion of Cambodia today. Sema are commonly seen at many pagodas across Cambodia often as a leaf-shaped stone, sometimes … Read more
A feature common to early and late ancient temples is the beautiful lion statues acting not only as guardians to the shrines but also emblematic of ancient royalty and divinity. On the early pyramid temples, they flanked the staircases leading to the top of the shrine, at early brick temples flanking the entrance to the … Read more
Two fascinating objects of ancient Khmer art are Chaitya (or Caitya) and/or boundary markers. They present a diverse range of artistic style crossing religion and reigns, and excluding a handful that I’ll list below, most exist only in museums now. Standing around a meter high, carved from a solid block of stone, they are four-sided … Read more
Somebody recently asked how many ancient sites are there in Cambodia, to which the simple answer is, thousands. The exact number according to official databases is close to 5000 in Cambodia and that number grows to over 7000 when including parts of the ancient empire that are now present-day Laos and Thailand. That number grows … Read more
There is much more to the ancient Khmer Empire than just temples and viharas, for example, there are the building types including libraries, hospital chapels, stele shelters, firehouses, staging places, ashramas, and of course bridges, then, there are all the constructions made of perishable materials which we will never truly know bar attempting to visualize … Read more
It’s always interesting to look back in time and the experience of the first western visitors to the great monuments of Angkor and how they shared that with the world. A while back I posted an intro to Francis Garnier’s expedition in the late 1800s which is among the earliest detailed records of temples in … Read more
A wonderful story from the early 1900s of a young Cambodian girl’s dream to join what we know today as the Royal Ballet of Cambodia. At that time, under King Sisowath, French records note the dance troupe consisting of around 100-120 girls including lead dancers, subjects, and students. This particular story and imagery comes from The Illustrated … Read more
While Angkor Wat and the greatest array of ancient Khmer temples are in Siem Reap, there is a surprising number of incredibly interesting ancient wonders within easy reach of Phnom Penh, especially once the Road 5 and Road 4 roadworks are completed. Many of these sites are quite unique in terms of art and architecture, … Read more
Phnom Kulen – The Birthplace of Angkor and home to the ancient city of Mahavendarpata Phnom Kulen (or Kulen Mountain) is a popular destination located north of Siem Reap well known for its stunning waterfall, reclining Buddha, amazing scenic views, and nature. It is also the birthplace of the ancient Angkor era featuring archeological remains … Read more
Bakong Temple is the stunning pyramid/temple-mountain masterpiece in the ancient city of Hariharalaya (present-day Roluos, Siem Reap) belonging to the 9th century and the state temple of King Indravarman I. The site consists of an outer moat (barely noticeable today) delimiting an area that then features an outer enclosure of laterite, containing a large beautiful … Read more
The ancient Khmer road network that we can still see the remains of today was built during the 11th to 13th centuries CE and connected Angkor (present-day Siem Reap) to the outer reaches of the empire including Vat Phou (present-day Laos) via Beng Mealea and Koh Ker, Phimai (present-day Thailand), Sdok Kok Thom (present-day Thailand), … Read more
Here is a question that has conjured all kinds of theories! Angkor Wat, the great temple of ancient Angkor remains one of the most researched temples in Cambodia but also one of the most mysterious. Still to this day, some believe it was built by giants, some still point to the ancient belief that was … Read more
I am sure you know about the “Dinosaur” of Ta Prohm, the apparent ancient carving of a Stegosaurus by people who would have never known that such existed. Or did they? At the end of this article I’ll explain exactly where to find it and what you need to know about the Ta Prohm Dinosaur, … Read more
While, somewhat sadly, we don’t have any surviving ancient Khmer texts apart from inscriptions what we do have are the accounts of the traveling diplomats such as China’s Zhou Daguan in the 13th century followed by Japanese pilgrims in the 17th century and then French explorers in the 19th century. One of those French explorers … Read more
No matter how many books or research papers you read, can you truly get an understanding of the real local culture and beliefs that surround this ancient wonderland? It should also be said that much of what’s written looks at the Khmer Empire almost purely through French eyes via an Indian lens upon what became … Read more
It is fascinating (to me at least) to look upon Angkor today and not only wonder about its truly ancient history but also how it is still making history and touching the lives of so many, every day, in so many ways. This article comes from an Australian newspaper, the Cairns Post of Friday 8 … Read more
Today I’d like to introduce an amazing ancient map of Angkor Wat created by Japanese voyagers sometime around the 17th century. It’s truly quite fascinating and offers a great insight into Angkor Wat in the post-Angkor period. It’s not without a twist though. As scholars have deduced, the Japanese may have actually been on a voyage … Read more
The Terrace of the Leper King, located in Angkor Thom between Tep Pranam and the Terrace of the Elephants/Royal Palace, was first cleared by Jean Commaille, in 1911, which revealed the amazing reliefs of the internal wall. This clearing work was continued by Henri Marchal between 1917 to 1925, and followed by BP Groslier who … Read more