Source: Sunday Times, London
CAMBODIA, VIETNAM: In the jungle of Cambodia, at the site of Phnom Kulen, 20 miles from the temple complex at Angkor Wat, a priceless devotional work of art, the “River of a Thousand Lingas,” has been discovered. Carved in the rock of a riverbed, the Siva Lingas blessed the water flowing over them from the mountain as it irrigated the rice paddy fields or provided a water source to the ancient city of Angkor on the plains. Similar river carvings exist in India. Dating as far back as 802 ce, when the Hindu Khmer Empire ruled most of IndoChina, the Phnom Kulen plateau has multiple temples with sculptures of elephants and lions six meters high. However, the Vietnamese war has left its mark on this holy site. The area is infested with landmines and the Cambodian government, lacking in funds to nurture the temples, has tendered its development out to a company headed by Seang Nam, the MP for Siem Reap. A road has been cleared to the Phnom Kulen temples where there are plans for a hotel. Looters are stealing precious carvings from the site to sell in Bangkok.