Banteay  Srei ( “citadel of the women” or “citadel of beauty”), is an exquisite 10th-century Hindu temple consisting of low walls surrounding peaked structures of deep red sandstone.  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. Completed in 967, Banteay Srei was the only major temple at Angkor not built for the king; instead it was constructed by one of king Rajendravarman’s counsellors, Yajnyavahara. The temple was primarily dedicated to Shiva.

Adjacent to the temple I noticed a new born water buffalo and her mother.

Banteay Kdei, meaning “A Citadel of Chambers”, also known as “Citadel of Monks’ cells”, is a Buddhist temple built in the mid 12th to early 13th centuries AD during the reign of Jayavarman VII, it is in the Bayon architectural style, similar in plan to Ta Prohm and Preah Khan, but less complex and smaller.

 After returning to Siem Reap late in the afternoon, I went out for a long walk to photograph some of the local people, a nice break from shooting ancient monuments.

After dinner we attended an acrobatic circus performance put on by the Phare Performing Social Enterprise which seeks to provide gainful employment to Cambodian youth from difficult social and economic backgrounds and financially sustain a school dedicated to the rebirth of Cambodian modern art.  I was selected to perform on stage as the base of a human pyramid. Let’s just say I was the source of great amusement for the rest of the audience.