Cambodia

Cambodia — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Nick Morris

Nick Morris

— 4 min read

Or is it Wat Preah Prom Rath?

September 2015

Wat Preah Prohm Rath or it may be Wat Preah Prom Rath; there does seem to be some confusion, is a Buddhist Temple in Siem Reap. But as a plaque inside the temple said Wat Preah Prohm Rath, I am going with that.

Photo by Author — a plaque to Preah And Chong Han Hoy Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — a plaque to Preah And Chong Han Hoy Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Wat Preah Prohm Rath dates back to the 16th century and was built in honour of Preah Ang Chang-Han Hoy (“Monk with the freshly cooked rice in his pot”).

Preah Ang Chang-Han Hoy lived from 1358 to 1456. And according to legend, and the above plaque, one day, he was out in his boat when it was attacked by two sharks (possibly crocodiles) as he crossed a lake (I am not aware of any ‘lake’ sharks; hence, my guess is it was crocodiles). His boat broke in two, yet he safely got to the shore.

Interestingly, there isn’t an entry for this temple on Wikipedia. I wonder why not?

Photo by Author — and the rain came down — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — and the rain came down — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — and the rain came down — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — and the rain came down — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — shoes at the temple — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — shoes at the temple — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia

There is also a second temple area on the site.

Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia

I am not sure what the various paintings in the temple depicted, but I would get they are lessons or holy stories. If you know, please leave a comment.

Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia

The wood used to make the reclining Buddha (see the image below) at Wat Preah Prohm Rath is supposedly from Preah Ang Chang-Han Hoy’s boat that the sharks attacked.

Photo by Author — reclining Buddha — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — reclining Buddha — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — window grill — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Photo by Author — window grill — Wat Preah Prohm Rath (Wat Preah Prom Rath), Pokambor Avenue, Siem Reap, Cambodia

It was interesting to visit a working temple after seeing all the ruined temples in the Angkor Archaeological Park. It gave me a feel and an idea of what may have happened at the now ruined and mainly abandoned temples.

Foursquare: Wat Preah Prohm Rath

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