Getting to Know You: Wat Phnom

    Here are a few pictures of Wat Phnom.  A wat is a pagoda or temple.  There is a little hill in a relatively flat city, so there is a story about why the temple was built there. It is common to see wats around town, and they are common on high places.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I'd like to comment on the spiritual implications of some of these things, but for now you can just have a look-see.

Hindu-ish snake statues are common in temple areas.

A mural on the wall.

I took this picture to show the offerings that people leave on the statues: lotus flowers, money, etc.

To my architectural friends.. Is this what you would call a flying buttress?

Pointy spires reaching to the sky.

 

People were burning incense and praying to these stone lions(?)  I took this picture because they are stationed right next to a sink of dirty dishes and thought that was an interesting dichotomy.