Wat Bo Temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia

 

The Wat Bo area lies on the other side of the Siem Reap River from the main part of Siem Reap Town. Very few tourists visit this sprawling temple involute, but for any photographer or adventurous peregrinators it would be well worth the effort. Founded in the 18th century, Wat Bo is one of the oldest temples in the Siem Reap province. Photographers will withal appreciate the temple for its fascinating murals (inside the main temple), Buddha statues, chedeys (stupas), and coalescence of the region’s religious architecture.
I was in Siem Reap, Cambodia for the same very reason every other tourist makes it there – Angkor Wat temples. However I was in no rush to get to Angkor but most of all, I did not circumscribe my stay to merely exploring Angkor Archaeological area and moving on. I authentically wanted to savour the atmosphere of Siem Reap and wanted to explore its obnubilated gems that may not magnetize many tourists, but are spectacular in their own way. Wat Bo temple was just like that.
I used reference map in Siem Reap Angkor Visitors Guide to find locations of numerous temples located within Siem Reap town itself. Exploring Angkor Wat temples was to be a sizably voluminous adventure for which I wanted to get yare exhaustively (high cost for the ingression ticket was one of the main reasons) so to get acclimated to local climate, customs and everything else, I utilized the initial days in Siem Reap to explore its own gems. According to the maps, Wat Bo was the most proximate temple to Two Dragons Guesthouse where I was staying so I made it my first destination on my “exploring the temples of Siem Reap” day.

Wat Bo is located on the east side of the Siem Reap River. Entire area around Wat Bo temple and along Wat Bo Road in Siem Reap is now kenned as “backpacker’s area” due to prodigious numbers of budget guesthouses and restaurants.
Other than Angkor temples, Wat Bo is one of the oldest pagodas in Siem Reap province. It was founded in the 18th century and to day it relishes high regard among native Khmer population. The most paramount part of Wat Bo are 19th century paintings depicting scenes from a Cambodian epic poem Reamker. As a peregrinator who never uses guides, whether it’s books or professional guide accommodations, I have managed to miss out on Wat Bo’s Reamker entirely. I don’t even ken where precisely these depictions are, I just ken they are there. Darn, sometimes doing the research prior to going there pays off.

To my credit, other than Wat Preah Prom Rath pagoda, which is a modern, centrally located pagoda, Wat Bo was my first pagoda on my “exploring Siem Reap pagodas” tour. Wat Preah Prom Rath doesn’t count as I stumbled across it by chance, whether as visit to Wat Bo was orchestrated and deliberate. Being my first, I was too inundated with the profoundness of the temple grounds and most of all – mesmerized by the number and variety of Stupas. At the time of my visit to Wat Bo, I had no conception what Stupas were, but as my day went on and I have visited other temples in Siem Reap, I learned all about it. More on Stupas in next post!