Wat Bo Pagoda

Travel Location Siem Reap

Wat Bo Pagoda, close to the Siem Reap River on the east side, is one of the oldest in Siem Reap and a peaceful place to escape and take a break from touring the major temple sites of nearby ...

OVERVIEW

Wat Bo is one of the oldest pagodas in Siem Reap, Cambodia and has a number of well-preserved wall paintings from the 19th century. Although it is a Buddhist temple some of the wall paintings describe the famous ancient love story of Rama and Shita, the strongest man and the most beautiful women of all times. Still today the royal families of the Southeast Asian countries claim to be descendants of Rama. Anyhow, these wall paintings describe a Hindu story that is most remarkable in a Buddhist temple. Wat Bo temple also contains a large collection of Buddha statues that you will find behind the main Buddha.

Video Travel Inspiration

Wat Bo pagoda was built in the 18th century and is therefore the oldest pagoda in town. The wall paintings in the Vihear are very special because they don't only present religieus scenes but also scenes of Cambodians daily living. It is only a pitty that the wall painting aren't in such a good condition. To keep them for many more years they should be restored.
In Wat Bo you have also like in Wat Damnak a public school. Around lunch time and late afternoon you see the children running out of the school when the bell rings. Wat Bo has also it's own radiostation and Buddhist highschool where the monks can complete their education.

Immersing yourself in a culture sometimes requires getting away from the tourist honeypots. Wat Bo, which gives the area of town its name where a hub of backpacker accommodation can also be found, is a quiet pagoda worth a stop if you’re interested in connecting more with Cambodia’s spiritual side.

The country may be Buddhist, but this 18th century pagoda is particularly notable for its detailed wall paintings portraying Reamker, the Cambodian version of one of the great Hindu epics, Ramayana. The mural montage of intricate Khmer art is painted finely on the walls. Though for some pieces time has evidently taken its toll, many are still well preserved. That said, not all can be viewed easily and not just because it’s gloomy inside, but because you’d need to be on stilts to see up high.

The patchwork of paintings is especially interesting here as it also depicts daily life and shows how scenes such as market shopping has little changed over the passage of time. You will also spot foreigners painted in the some hundred odd scenes, such as a row of French soldiers – there are some eyebrow raising outfits to be seen, as well as customs such as smoking suspect substances…

Wat Bo is located on the east side of Siem Reap River and gives Wat Bo Area its name. Cross the Siem Reap River on the ‘Wat Bo Bridge’ next to La Residence d’Angkor and just follow Samdech Tep Vong Street. You need to cross the River Road Achar Sva Street as well as Wat Bo Road and then continue straight until you reach Wat Bo Pagoda.

Pagodas and monks welcome visitors and tourists. Please always remember to not disturb prayer or eating times, women are not allowed to touch monks, bow slightly in the presence of older monks, don’t point soles of feet or fingers towards monks or Buddha statues, sit with feet tucked behind rather than crossed, hats off in the monastery grounds, take off your shoes in the building, speak softly, ask before taking pictures, don’t enter closed buildings without permission, contribute what you can to the donation box.

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