Work is kicking into high gear. I have been out in the field conducting interviews on a regular basis, gathering information to write up briefs and articles for IRD. I have many fun photos of families and children as well as their stories to share with you, but I’ll save those for a later post.
For now, let me tell you about all the playing I’ve been doing. And by playing, I really only mean one thing – getting to see Angkor Wat. This was the one thing that I had to see while in Cambodia. The country continues to be plagued by the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge regime while Angkor Wat remains the country’s jewel, one of the main things that still produces solidarity and provides a sense of belonging to the Cambodian people. It is truly a source of pride, as it should rightfully be.
The thousands of temples at the Angkor complex are absolutely magical places. They have ceased to support a civilization for almost a thousand years, and yet they are the beating heart of this country. They were the symbol of a civilization unrivaled, and they still are the symbol of a civilization unmatched. The sheer vastness and scope of Angkor Wat reveals the power and influence that was once focused out of this very country.
The complex is so large and overwhelming that when I say I spent 10 hours at this place, that is actually a disappointing amount of time. While we did quite a lot in that time and don’t feel slighted in the least, there is still so much that we failed to see. Brekke and I saw the sunrise over the main temple, the one actually called Angkor Wat. Then we rode by tuk-tuk to the other major temple sites – Bayon, The Terrace of the Elephants, The Temple of the Leper King, Ta Prom, Ta Koa, and Banteay Srey. And in the afternoon we headed about an hour north to the River of a Thousand Lingas. They are were very unique and had their own history and story to reveal.
Bayon was my favorite. It was one of the first temples we saw. If it was a wedding dress and I tried it on first, I would have no problem ending my search. We were there early in the morning as the sun had just hit the sky; it was slightly hazy and cool. There were no fanny pack toting tourists in sight. Brekke and I got to explore this ancient wonder by ourselves which made it that much more mind blowing. The symmetry of the temple is perfect, as is the detail of the carvings. There are over 200 large faces carved into 54 tall towers with tons of little crannies to get lost in. I can just imagine what a grand place it would have been during its height.
Ta Kao was also incredibly impressive, but mainly so because of what Brekke and I did there. We climb out of the tuk tuk with cameras in hand, ready to document another mound of old rock. We are planning on climbing to the top of this one, seeing as how there is one huge door frame at its summit that would make an awesome picture. As we walk off, our tuk tuk driver reminds us that 3 Japanese tourists died last year while climbing this very temple. First comes the shock that death always brings, then the terror of the idea of still climbing this thing, and finally the anger at the driver because he has ruined our picture. Or did he? That's right. We bravely hand him our cameras and we head off to climb Ta Kao. "We're in shape! We'll be careful!" We'll. Be. Fine.
Until we're not. Until we get half way and start to shake and wobble. We both begin to get short of breath. Brekke softly reminds me that "Jesus did not being us to Southeast Asia to die," while I yell "Yes he did! We're going to die! Oh, and we will have to add this to the list when we get to heaven!" Just imagine our arms and legs sprawled over steps that are so steep they should actually be called a wall, and you have envisioned what I thought was my last moment. Thankfully we find our way to a stoop, get a picture from the tuk-tuk driver at the bottom, and somehow find our way down...only to realize when we later examine our picture that we were only a few steps away from the top.
Thankfully, our afternoon was not filled with a brush with death. It was, in fact, very peaceful. The River visit was incredible. I mean, with a name like “The River of a Thousand Lingas,” who wouldn’t love it? It sounds so full of adventure and…well…Indiana Jones. We had to hike up 2000 km to the top of a mountain to get to the river. Butterflies of yellow and orange led the way as we climbed through jungle and over rock. At the top, the river beds are actually lined with even more carvings – the Lingas – and produced a little water fall. After seeing all the temples in the morning, the river was fairly unimpressive, but the hike was wonderful. Definitely something new and different.
I’ll end with this quote that I stumbled upon as I was reading the guide book about Ta Prom, the temple where Tomb Raider was filmed. It sums up my experience at Angkor Wat perfectly: “Everywhere around you, you see Nature in its dual role as destroyer and consoler; strangling on the one hand, and healing on the other; no sooner splitting the carved stone asunder than she dresses their wounds with cool, velvety mosses, and binds them with her most delicate tendrils.”
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