Dear Family and Friends,

One friend from the States called me brave to journey to Cambodia (thank you) – but my journey to Cambodia wasn’t bravery nor casual impulse. I have wanted to visit Angkor Wat for a long time and measured the distance on a map between Bangkok and Cambodia - I knew even before I departed from the States that I would seize any opportunity to visit Angkor Wat. Why? Well, once upon a time in school, I researched the “Seven Ancient Wonders of the World.” I actually found this research disheartening as my reading soon indicated that due to fire, earthquakes and war, only 1 of 7 Ancient Wonders remains. How unfair is that? Can you name any or all of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World?

They are:
• The Great Pyramid at Giza (Egypt)
• The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (modern day Iraq/Iran)
• The Statue of Zeus at Olympia (Greece)
• The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (Turkey)
• The Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus (was somewhere in ancient Persia)
• Colossus of Rhodes (was somewhere in the Mediterranean)
• The Lighthouse at Alexandria (Egypt)

Ever the over-achiever, I by-passed the parameters of my project and began reading about “younger” wonders of the world, as well as the modern wonders of the world and natural wonders of the world. I was delighted to read that while the Ancient Wonders had vanished, the world had produced seven additional wonders that were plenty old. It depends on the list that you find; however, at the time I was researching, the Seven Wonders of the World were listed as:

• The Great Pyramid at Giza (Egypt)
• The Great Wall of China (China)
• The Taj Mahal (India)
• Machu Picchu (Peru)
• The Acropolis (Greece)
• The Coliseum (Rome)
• Angkor Wat (Cambodia)

Years later, I still recall this list with perfect clarity and you may reasonably conclude that it fuels my desire to travel to this day. Anyway, at this time in school, I had heard of the entire list - except for Angkor Wat. My curiosity was then and ever-piqued.

Per the usual, beyond bit of reading and having glimpsed a few pictures, I didn’t know much about Angkor Wat and visiting only made me realize how much I need to learn about the history, legends, construction techniques, symbolism and art of the place – and of Khmer culture. Seriously, at some point, I must develop a body of knowledge about something: just to keep from being 1000% ignorant. Anyway, my blog will be a surface tour at best – so despite difficulties, I recommend a visit to all. By the way, you don’t have to take the journey as I did: a month ago, Siem Reap opened an International airport.

Anyway, my friend and I breakfasted and were ready for Theara by 8. We climbed into the tuk tuk and made our way along paved roads to purchase our ticket amongst a throng of other visitors that were carried to the grounds via bus, car, minivan, tuk tuk, bicycle or occasionally on foot. Although it is worth noting that unless you are going to be there for a long stretch of time (a month?), motor conveyance is a necessity temples are spread apart. We suffered through a dreadful passport photo session and set off to see four temples. Our first stop was 10th century walled sandstone complex dominated by 3-towers called Pre Rup. At the time, the temple was built at the center of a Khmer capital and Pre Rup literally means “turning the body” – in this case, this means turning a royal corpse from body to ashes. I’m not clear on how often the complex was used for this but I was clear on the amazement that I felt in visiting the place and the enjoyment that I derived from the clear view of the countryside from the top tier.

My friend and I laughed that the stairs of Bangkok were excellent preparation for temple exploration in Cambodia.

Our next destination was East Mabon – a temple built earlier than Pre Rup but with a similar style. Its original intended purpose was to hold a good 50 million cubic meters of water but the water has long disappeared. Honestly, I was mostly excited by its carved elephants at each of the four corners and we greatly enjoyed Theara’s explanation re: two trees growing outside: one that produces tamarinds and the other that produced flavoring used for pickles. Good stuff.

Next stop: Peak Pean. This is apparently a must-see anyway but my textile-adoring friend has another object of adoration: the Naga. The Naga is a many-headed snake somehow useful in lore – I’ll get back to you on the details. Although Harry Potter fans please recall that Voldemort’s snake’s name is Nagani. Anyway, Peak Pean is an entire snake temple – with 1 large pool surrounded by 4 smaller pools that the larger pool feeds (all were dry). The large pool has a temple dedicated to the Naga in its center and features two Nagas with their bodies wrapped around the temple perimeter, the two tails entwined on the back side of the temple. Again, some amazing and interesting carving – although I’ll be saying this a lot re: the temples at Ancient Angkor. We walked around for a bit and just before departing, watched a woman climb and rather lewdly straddle a large sculpture… her climbing was plainly inappropriate and I fervently hoped that (a) she’d take her medicine soon and (b) that she wasn’t an American.

Hot, sweaty beyond belief, hungry, and thirsty, we stopped at a dubious tented restaurant with wandering dogs and chickens for lunch. My friend wouldn’t, couldn’t eat but Theara and I each inhaled a plate of fried rice. On this day I was lucky to survive my lunch intestinally intact.

Our final stop was at a literal cool temple: Preah Khan. Built in the late 12th Century, this temple offered fascinating long corridors interspersed with doorways, trees growing from a few unlikely spots, beautiful carvings often colored by green lichen, and a stunning causeway entry. I was happier than a clam – as was my friend – as we clamored over doorways, strayed into rubble-filled courtyards with amazing carvings and wandered with our mouths gaping open. It is possible that this would’ve gone on for days except that it started raining. Not just raining but pouring. We were almost at the end of the long corridor anyway so we quickly scrambled back and shielded ourselves as best we could with my umbrella and made our way back to Theara who promptly donned his rain poncho and escorted us home.

That night my friend didn’t feel well but our Siem Reap friend, the fourth CELTA fellow that had previously missed the bus, and myself went to my friend’s favorite restaurant called the Khmer Kitchen. He ordered. It was delicious. At that point, I hadn’t really grasped the temple names that I’m now able to use but I nonetheless tried describing the temples to the boys… yeah, they were not impressed. Afterwards, I was introduced to Bar Street where the boys had beer and I had a mango shake and we all experienced a bit of an adrenaline rush when we found out that a kitchen a few doors down was on fire. A huge crowd had gathered around the darkened restaurant with an orange light-filled back doorway… where was the fire department? I wasn’t willing to hang around for the excitement and walked to the Shadow. I slept well that night.

(to be continued) --L