Courtesy of Carl Parkes -- FriskoDudeThe Khmer temple of Preah Vihear has been in the news lately, due to it's magnificent but unfortunate location on the Thai/Cambodian border. The temple was legally awarded to Cambodia in 1962, but it's almost impossible to reach from the Cambodian side, so almost all visitors arrive from Thailand. Magnum photographer John Vink recently visited the temple and posted a few images on his website, including one of the viewpoint that emphasizes the amazing cliffside location. But you can't save images from his site, (some kind of technological wizardry), so I've included the sample above.
I visited Preah Vihear (aka Preah Viharn) many years ago on a TAT press trip, and was delighted to see the infamous lintel which depicts Vishnu churning the sea of milk, which was stolen several decades ago and sent off to a museum in Chicago, then returned to the temple and remounted in it's original position. A few weeks ago, I spotted a letter to the editor in the Bangkok Post that described the hellish journey from Phnom Penh to Preah Vihear. Read The Backroad to Preah Vihear.
Built between the 10th and the 11th century, this Angkorian temple dedicated to Shiva lies on a cliff along the disputed border between Cambodia and Thailand, although a 1962 ruling of the International Court of The Hague specifies that the temple indeed lies in Cambodian territory. The recent attempt by Cambodia to have the complex being recognised by UNESCO as World Heritage, sparked a renewed claim by Thailand to modify the border. The first visit of the new Thai PM Mr. Samak Sundaravey to Cambodia seems to have calmed things down. Meanwhile tourism is booming, nearly exclusively through the easier access from the Thai side, and some days up to 300 visitors visit the site.
I visited Preah Vihear (aka Preah Viharn) many years ago on a TAT press trip, and was delighted to see the infamous lintel which depicts Vishnu churning the sea of milk, which was stolen several decades ago and sent off to a museum in Chicago, then returned to the temple and remounted in it's original position. A few weeks ago, I spotted a letter to the editor in the Bangkok Post that described the hellish journey from Phnom Penh to Preah Vihear. Read The Backroad to Preah Vihear.
Built between the 10th and the 11th century, this Angkorian temple dedicated to Shiva lies on a cliff along the disputed border between Cambodia and Thailand, although a 1962 ruling of the International Court of The Hague specifies that the temple indeed lies in Cambodian territory. The recent attempt by Cambodia to have the complex being recognised by UNESCO as World Heritage, sparked a renewed claim by Thailand to modify the border. The first visit of the new Thai PM Mr. Samak Sundaravey to Cambodia seems to have calmed things down. Meanwhile tourism is booming, nearly exclusively through the easier access from the Thai side, and some days up to 300 visitors visit the site.
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