Cambodia
Angkor Wat
“To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, to gain all while you give, to roam the roads of lands remote: To travel is to live.” — Hans Christian Andersen
To visit Angkor Wat had been a long-held dream. At one point my younger sister was working in Phnom Penh, so my older sister and I planned to visit and see Angkor Wat. It was not to be, the night before I was supposed to fly out from the US, I fell and ended up with multiple fractures in my right arm. Ouch is right. Almost 10 years from that first attempt and another failed attempt I finally made it here.
My timing is spot on since in 2023 Angkor Wat was declared the 8th wonder of the world and I am still holding my record of seeing all 8 wonders of the world.
It began here in Phnom Pehn and a wonderful group of people with Nok, our Thai tour manager who efficiently herded us through our itinerary.
The Independence Monument at the center of the city built to commemorate Cambodia’s independence from France with a cauldron at the center where a flame can be lit. We stood across the street and viewed the monument on its own roundabout with traffic whizzing around it.
Across the street is the Norodom Sihanouk memorial which features a bronze statue of the king surrounded by flowers, fountains and trees. A wonderful gathering place for the locals on holidays and protests.
The Royal Palace is the official residence of the kings of Cambodia, consisting of many pavilions, villas and pagodas in the traditional Khmer style so reminiscent of Southeast Asia.
The dress code is very strict in regard to covering up the shoulders and knees and there is a lot of beauty to explore including the well-maintained gardens that surround the pavilions.
Surrounding the walls of the Silver Pagoda are these corridors featuring paintings or murals depicting the story of the Indian epic Ramayana. These murals were created by students and are 3.5 meters tall taking up 605 meters of wall.
What was amazing to me during this entire visit and across Cambodia is the impact of Hinduism in this part of the world even as these countries are predominantly Buddhist.
The Silver Pagoda and the temple of the Emerald Buddha. Visitors remove their shoes and enter with proper reverence. Photos are not allowed inside, and this one was taking from an outside door.
The floor of the pagoda is lined with silver tiles though only a small portion is uncovered for tourists to view.
This pagoda contains many national treasures of gold, diamonds and jeweled Buddha statues. The Emerald Buddha is possibly made of Baccarat or Lalique.
With temperatures soaring in the 90s and humidity almost as high, while there was so much beauty to explore, we couldn’t help the sigh of relief as we left the palace complex to be greeted with cold bottles of water and iced towels to cool us down before we headed out to the museum followed by lunch.
Our day ended on a very somber note as we made our way to the killing fields. I guess my knowledge and history on these was very incomplete since I thought these were where prisoners of war were tortured but what I failed to realize is that the people that were tortured and murdered indiscriminately here were scholars, artisans and tradespeople who represented a way of life the communist regime wanted to abolish. We had an opportunity to listen to the story of a lone survivor who is one of 7 survivors out of 20000 who were left when they were freed and the only one still alive.
Traveling with us on this trip are 3 Cambodian friends who met in middle school and then in the US who each had their own stories of their survival and escape and relocation to the US. Certainly, brought the grim horror home in so many ways.
With excitement reaching a fever pitch for the main event we were soon winging our way to Siem Reap and the allure of the temples and other attractions at Angkor Wat. But first before we made it to the temples, we got to enjoy an evening of the famous Apsara Dancers.
Ta da early AM found us making our way to Angkor Wat. The large temple complex is an impressive sight.
Inside are intricately carved walls depicting once again the India epics this time I got to see the Mahabharata and the famous battle chiseled in the stone. There is a lot of symbolism of demons and angels, and I went upstairs and down a few to see all that there could be seen.
I was totally wilted by the time we left the temple complex and headed to a few local shops and a chair and fan and nice hydrating green coconut.
We then rode our bus a few minutes to make our way to the entrance of Angkor Thom. The two sides of the entrance are line with frowning demons on one side and happy angels on the other.
The excitement of the group was complete when a real live monkey jumped down the statuary around the gate to greet us.
As we walked towards the gate the river below us was sporting dragon boats with people sailing along.
The Bayon Temple. I did not walk through the temple instead I got off and took pictures from the outside and marveled at the artistry. Interestingly though these temples are all Hindu in their symbolism there were many Buddha shrines in the complex.
The Elephant Terrace and the elephant wall.
A visit to this part of the world would not be complete without a boat cruise on Tonle Sap the biggest freshwater lake in Asia with its many floating villages. While we did not stop or disembark at the village, it was interesting to see the rhythms of life on the water between school, gardening, groceries and restaurants.
To cherry on top, a luxury ride in a Cambodian Limousine to visit a village where we got to do some shopping for local handicrafts and enjoy a refreshing coconut or so.