Did you think I'd forgotten?

Colourful Neak Ta at Wat Snguon Pech, near Route No 4

A female Neak Ta spirit figure at Wat Snguon Pech

No doubt all of you have been wondering where are the Neak Ta from last Sunday's wat-hunting trip west of Phnom Penh - well, wonder no more! If you have been thirsting for more of the Neak Ta spirit houses that can be found dotted around the Cambodian countryside and inside the grounds of pagodas then this is the place to be. I am hunting down the best of the Neak Ta on my travels and trust me, there are many that are not worthy of a posting here. These Neak Ta were the best of Sunday's trip, about 30-35kms west of Phnom Penh and south of the town of Ang Snuol. The top two can be found next to the pagoda of Wat Snguon Pech, where I also located a genocide memorial. The pagoda is about 500 metres from Route 4 and these colourful Neak Ta spirit figures are regularly given offerings by the locals.
The bottom two Neak Ta are slightly different. The top one is a Neak Ta containing ancient and revered stones and the heads from broken statues at Wat Prei Puoch. The powerful Neak Ta spirits are located where the locals believe their powers and energy force will do most good. The shrines or huts of Neak Ta literally contain anything, natural or man-made - the objects representing the land, water and spirit elements. The bottom Neak Ta is of a wise gentleman and the shrine also houses some ancient stones and a seima stone from the pagoda itself. The pagoda of Wat Khpop is an old brick-built and wooden construction next to a river, which is being replaced by a modern vihara about half a kilometre away.
Whilst I'm posting, I just wanted to say a big thank you for the messages of support I've received since I broke the news that my original blog had been stolen. I'm quite overwhelmed by the show of support for my blog, and its nice to know that it's being read on a regular basis by a wide range of people.

The revered stones at Wat Prei Puoch

The wise old man and seima stone at the soon-to-be-replaced Wat Khpop