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Preah Khan and West Baray
Day 3 ~ Also the Butterfly House

November 1, 2003



Preah Khan

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Preah Khan means 'sacred sword' and was built by King Jayavaraman VII in dedication to his father. There is an inscription that indicates it was built on a battle site where the Khmer defeated the Chams.  Built in the late 12th century as a Buddhist monastery and school, many of the carvings and statues have fallen prey to a later Hindu resurgence when carvings of the Buddha were defaced and linga were brought in. The center of the complex holds a small shrine with a stupa in which we were told the remains of the king are buried. Apparently wishes made in the shrine will come true. Currently the site is left fairly in ruins, and the jungle is making a strong bid for the space.



West Baray

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Taking a little relaxation today. West Baray is the largest man made body of water at Angkor with an area of 8km by 2.2km. It was built in the early 11th century. There are several barays in the area, and their purpose is apparently debatable. Is it simply a reservoir, or a fish farm, or a parking lot for royal boats? The local wisdom says they were used as reservoirs for irrigation, but there are generally islands with temples in the middle on them too, and they were also almost certainly political as well.

We rented an umbrella from the woman in red for 75 cents and sat for a few hours. We had a picnic lunch from the market there, and afterwards several children came along to gather up our recycling. The swimming looked pretty enticing (and is apparently quite safe according to our local guide book), but we hadn't planned on it and didn't have swimming attire.

Butterfly House

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An English fellow has opened a Butterfly House and Cafe in Siem Reap. It's quite nice inside and is very peaceful. There are over 1,000 butterflies in a small area and wonderful plants, as well as a koi pond, guppy pool and small fountain. The plants are wonderful and are marked informatively as to what they are. The butterflies of course escape and die, and while they reproduce some, it is not enough to keep the place supplied.

The butterflies are collected by a group of children from a local village, and they use the proceeds to help pay for school and food. They also sell postcards of the children with butterflies as well as jewelry and artwork made from butterfly wings.

The cafe is small but quite comfortable. We had some home made ice cream there which was tasty but very crystallized as if it had been completely melted and refrozen, or perhaps that the custard had not been properly formed in the making. Regardless, it was quite tasty and worth the $1 price tag, especially as to be helping out the cause.



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