Angkor Wat!

The Angkor Archaeological Park is by far one of the most impressive places I've ever been. I have always heard of Angkor Wat and wanted to visit - it's the largest, best preserved of all the Angkorian temples. What I didn't realize is that there are tons of other temples from other kings and other times in the area. I spent the last three days, at least 5 hours a day, touring a total of 18 temples...there are way more but honestly I didn't have the endurance to visit them...I am templed out!! I hit all the contemporary favorites though. My personal favorite, second to Angkor Wat of course, is Ta Prohm, aka the jungle temple. They have intentionally left quite a bit of it in ruins. Nature is taking it back...massive trees growing in, around and on the temple. I felt like I was in one of the Indiana Jones movies, or at least some Playstation game where there are guys jumping over sandstone rubble and swinging on trees. Very, very cool. The bas-relief carvings on most all of the temples are so detailed. It is incredible to think of the craftsmanship and labor put into the making of these massive structures. Formerly Hindu, then converted to Buddhism like all of the temples, Angkor Wat is believed to hold the ashes of King Suryavarman II, making it the largest ever building to hold a corpse. Five million tons of sandstone, incredible carvings and detail and all completed in 40 years...unreal! The sunrise this morning overlooking the reflecting pond was yet another moment on this trip causing me reason to pause and be eternally grateful for what I am seeing and experiencing.

Cambodia is a very poor country and people here learn the art of selling (hustling!) at a young age. Outside of every temple, there are children selling all kinds of things - books, bracelets, stuff. It is difficult to look into their beautiful brown eyes and not give every one of them all the money you have. Unfortunately, giving to children just promotes the cycle and so I do not support it. It can be trying to be constantly followed, begged, tugged on to buy something. So, I came up with what I consider cute little responses. Actually, I've been doing this since Bali, where the people are incessantly asking you to buy stuff too. It's the only way I've been able to keep my sanity when walking the streets in Asia! Here are my responses to various questions. 1) Where are you from? I reply, "My Mom and Dad". They always giggle. 2) Do you need a taxi/tuk-tuk/motorcycle/ride? I say, "No thanks, I can fly. Or, no thanks, I want a helicopter." This is really funny only when their English is good enough! 3) Do you want a book? "No thanks, I can't read." It's a lot of fun to actually laugh with the people instead of just constantly saying no!

On my first day touring the temple, actually the first two days, it poured rain off and on. I was wearing flip-flops (aka thongs, as my dear Aussie friends would call them!) and ventured back to a temple that few tourists get to. On the way, a cute little boy started walking with me and kept telling me "lady, be careful, it's wet". I quietly applauded his observational skills and then completely wiped out. Cambodian mud is very thick...it covered me from my shoulder to my toes on the left side of my body. This marks the first official fall since arriving in Cambodia. If I think back on it, I am quite clumsy. I have fallen in basically every country since Indonesia. In Bali, it was off the motorbike into the rice field. In Malaysia, it was climbing up a mountain...I went in the wrong direction! In India, it was down a small flight of stairs in the rain. In Thailand, as Gerad and I were walking on the beach, I didn't see a volleyball net tied onto a tree and walked right into it and kind of fell backwards into the sand in slow motion. Now this. It is truly remarkable that I have not broken anything!

After spending the days playing on temples, I spent the evenings in the very pleasant city center of Siem Reap. Hung out with a couple of German guys I met for two nights. Last night, my tuk-tuk driver, Kuonn, whom I hired for my three days of templing, took me to a very local place. He ordered. This is what we got: sliced, raw carrots, beans, cucumber, some types of grass(!!) and parts of a cow that we dipped in some kind of clearish sauce. I have no idea what parts they were and so I asked Kuonn. He said the inside parts. Again, very observant. I think the only reason I did not get violently ill is because of the Angkor, Cambodia's finest and only beer.

Made it back to Phnom Penh tonight. On the bus ride, a woman played music aloud for the bus to hear from her cell phone, this is also common on local buses in Asia! She sang quite loudly to her music. She was also tone deaf. I could not withhold my laughter. Sing like no one's listening I suppose rings very true to her! Tomorrow, I will figure out a way to get to Ta Koe, a tiny village about 79 KM from here. I'll be volunteering at the New Futures Orphanage for the rest of the week...can't wait to meet the kids! Happy Labor Day!