of all the places we visited in angkor, banteay srei is my favorite, mainly because of the elaborate carvings on red sandstone temples which never cease to amaze me. i’m boring myself out saying how these pictures don’t do much justice to the real thing but really, banteay srei is amazing. lots of tourists, though. and there we were adding to the population.

it’s interesting to note that the temples here are smaller compared to the other temples. that’s because banteay srei is the only temple not built for the king. instead it was dedicated to the hindu god shiva.

Banteay Srei means “Citadel of Women,” and it is said that the reliefs on this temple are so delicate that they could only have been carved by the hand of a woman. The well-preserved relief carvings on the central buildings depict scenes from ancient Hindu tales. (source)

funny. for a temple i consider a favorite, i don’t have anything much to talk about. with all these photos, who needs words?