It was pouring rain at 4 a.m., so we scrapped the sunrise visit to Angkor Wat in hope of better weather tomorrow. Theara met us at 8 a.m. for a 90 minute bike ride to the Angkor City. As always, the journey there was full of interesting sights.
A Khmer tow truck. Theara said this is how it is typically done. He towed his brother's car 200km using a bamboo stick.
The local children's hospital is warning people about the severe epidemic of haemorrhagic dengue fever. Yesterday, in the village, we saw signs posted on the trees telling people to sleep under a mosquito net. We have been slathering on the deet, but there are not many mosquitos or bugs in general. We later went to this hospital to listen to a lecture about the hospital. More on this later.....
Above is the "Ho and Go," as we named it, or the "hammock massage parlor," as Theara calls it. Men go to this "restaurant," where they can smell the ladies and talk to them for free, but need to pay $50 for the special package. The street version is cheaper ($20), but the ladies aren't as pretty and they have more frequent visitors.
Off to build a roof....
Every Khmer person we met teased Theara for riding his motorbike rather than biking with us.
Our first stop was Ta Prohm, another location where they filmed Two Brothers and Tomb Raiders. The other was the Jungle Temple, Beng Meala, which we visited the first day (I believe I mistakenly called it Ta Prohm in my blog; they look similar). Ta Prohm was built in the late 12th century by Jayavaraman VII. "Varaman" at the end of the king's name means fire and strength.
Like the Jungle Temple, the Thai people also destroyed this temple. However, unlike the Jungle Temple, this one is being restored. India has donated a lot of money and architectural knowledge to rebuild and repair it. They repair the stones instead of building replicas, unlike some other countries who are aiding in the restoration. Above is a before and after picture of Ta Prohm. The Thai people only destroyed certain temples. They destroyed this one to take its jewels. 500kg of gold covered the temple and there were 300kg of diamonds in the inner sanctuary. The diamonds lined the inner sanctuary, which had wooden doors. When royalty came here to pray, they would open the wooden doors so the diamonds would glisten in the sun. I'm sure it was a spectacular sight. Cambodia has lots of diamonds, especially along its border with Thailand. This is one reason why there has been so much fighting along its western border.
It is a massive temple. The outer wall is about 1km and over 12,000 people lived around it. About 200,000 people lived in Angkor City. These people now live in Siem Reap. The craziest part about visiting these temples is that you can go in all the temples and for the most part, climb wherever you want. I suspect that eventually this may change someday when they finish restoring them.
Trees growing in the temple.
We went picture crazy in the temple.
Next stop was the Unfinished Temple, Ta Keo, built by Jayavaraman V. Construction began in 975. It was struck by lightning before it was finished. The king went to a fortune teller, who told him the temple was bad luck. He then abandoned the temple. We climbed to the top and it began to lightning. We were outta there.
A steep climb to the heavens.
We gave a blessing inside, and we were on our way.
A quick picture on top. We were the only people there, so we used the timer to take a picture. Theara knows when to visit to avoid the crowds and to get the best lighting. Clearly, we are his biggest fan.
Through one of the city gates en route to Angkor Wat.
The road was closed, so we took a detour through the jungle.
The monkeys came to say hi.
Two friendly Khmer women let me take their picture while they gathered poison fruit, used to make medicines. Two of these have enough poison to kill a person. I thought they were limes....
A friendly group of kids. They love to see the digital picture on the camera after you take it.
We had lunch and a well-deserved lunch near Angkor Wat.
Theara taught me the Khmer handshake. I taught him how to do an exploding fist pound.
Off to see Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious monument built between 1113 and 1150. It is a Hindu temple, but Hindu and Buddhist temples are very similar. Many Kings who were Hindu had temples who were built by Buddhist kings but modified them by removing certain carvings and sculptures. The Thai people did not destroy this temple because it did not have gold or diamonds. It was mostly used for praying. There are five towers, each representing a peak on Mount Meru, the home of the gods.
Outside Angkor Wat. A little rainy.... We crossed the moat, symbolizing the mythical oceans surrounding the earth, and entered the temple through the entrance for the commoners to avoid the traffic at the entrance for royalty. There is also an entrance for the animals.
I love the reflection on the water.
You can enter the uppermost level of the temple, which is very holy.
View of a lower level from the top.
Standing in the center of the temple and turning to each side brings you a long life. I did it twice to be sure it works. There was tons to see. We were there for at least two hours.
Some of the Khmer Rouge lived here when they were in power. They knew it was a safe place to live because the government wouldn't bomb such a holy place. They also spread land mines around the outskirts of the temple for extra protection. When they moved on, they left the land mines which, until recently, prevented people from visiting the temples. They have all been cleared from this area but you still see many people who have lost limbs because of the mines.
We didn't understand how the Khmer Rouge gained so much strength. The Khmer Rouge would promise peasants a future with money and power. They also gave the people the option of death or membership in the Khmer Rouge, even forcing children to choose between death or killing their parents. Stories about how the Khmer Rouge destroyed the whole country are everywhere.
A tamarind tree outside the temple.
Next up, an elephant ride to the top of Phnom (meaning mountain) Beheng. For $20 and an assurance that they treat the elephants well, we couldn't refuse. The temple at the top of the mountain (more like a large hill) was built in 907. Many visitors go here to watch the sunset.
We are loving our elephant and our mahout, even though he was the least friendly Khmer person we met.
A bad picture of the temple and crowds to see the sunset.
A gorgeous sunset. Unfortunately we didn't stay to watch it from the top of the mountain because we had to bike back before dark.
We stopped at the local children's hospital on our way home to hear Dr. Beat Richner speak about Cambodia's healthcare system. He started the Kantha Bopha Foundation around 1974 until the Khmer Rouge started ruling Cambodia. He gives biweekly concerts and lectures to raise money for the organization. After the Khmer Rouge left power, King Norodom Sihanouk asked him to restore the hospital the organization previously funded. Only 50 of the 953 doctors in Cambodia survived the Khmer Rouge's rule. There are now 5 hospitals run by this organization. Children receive free care at these hospitals. It is essentially the only means for them to get care. The Cambodian government pays for 3 percent of its operating costs, the Swiss government 10, and the rest is private donations. 60 percent of people in Cambodia have tuberculosis and many never receive vaccinations. Blood is regularly in short supply because dengue fever treatment often requires many blood transfusions. The hospital ensures children complete their course of TB treatment by picking them up in the villages for their scheduled appointments. There are typically two children in each bed and the hospitals are always full with long waits. They have an 8 percent c-section rate--pretty darn good if I remember correctly. The hospital pays their staff very well to prevent corruption, a constant concern in Cambodia. Wages range from $200 to $1,000 per month for the hospital personnel. They have to buy all their medicines from other countries because most of the medicine in Cambodia is ineffective. The work the organization does is impressive and the state of Cambodia's healthcare system is heart wrenching. Without these hospitals, the children and pregnant mothers would have essentially no healthcare.
We set our alarm clocks for a 4:40 a.m. wake up for sunrise at Angkor Wat. Hopefully we have better weather tomorrow.
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Location:Siem Reap, Cambodia
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