Wat Kean Kleang
Following on from our previous post on Phnom Penh’s Wat Kean Kleang, here are some photographs of the excellent paintings we mentioned that are to be found on the wooden doors and window shutters of the old viharn or main worshipping hall. (The active Buddhist temple is located a short distance east of the capital, aside Highway 6 which is the main route between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.
Couldn’t ascertain exactly how old they were – 100 years or so (resident monks weren’t sure) – and sadly, we’re not sure how much longer they’re going to be around, completely exposed as they are to the elements and painted on wood that’s showing distinct signs of rotting. We’d assume that much of the worst damage in the lower parts of the panels must be from flood damage, as the temple is situated on the banks of the Mekong River. Anyway, without further ado, here are some photos of some of the best remaining images.
No captions for the images since apart from saying they seem to be scenes from the life of Buddha, we’re not expert enough to be able to say exactly what’s going on!
The colours have faded noticeably just in the few years we’ve been visiting so check them out whilst they’re still there. Wat Kean Kleang, as well as Koh Dach, are included on our ‘Beyond Angkor‘, off-the-beaten-track Cambodia tour.
Update: on our most recent visit, the wooden hall with its paintings was, alas, no more. While the overall structure was probably beyond saving, one would hope that the abbot (or indeed the Cambodian Fine Arts Department) saw fit to save the wooden panels. We have no idea and queries to locals met with no clear response so, unfortunately, we fear the worst. Probably fortuitous that we managed to record the images while they were still there!
