Angkor Wat

My tuk-tuk driver picked me up from my guesthouse at 5 a.m. to go watch the sun rise over one of the coolest things I've ever seen, Angkor Wat.

The town was dark and silent, but as we approached the world's largest religious building we were joined by the hum of other tuk-tuks and buses full of tourists up early to see one of the Wonders of the World.

Despite being crowded, the grandiose expanse of Angkor Wat made the crowd feel minimal. A moat larger than any of those around Europe's castles surrounded the part Hindu/part Buddhist temple. I walked across the enormous stone bridge silently, just beginning to see the vague outline of the temple's famous lotus-shaped peaks in the horizon. The moat was perfectly still and dark-indigo colored from the reflection of the moon. After about 20 minutes of walking, I arrived in front of the lotus pond where I waited with others and my camera for the temple to come into view.

It was awesome.

Angkor Wat and many other Khmer buildings and temples were built in the 12th century. The Khmer Kingdom stretched through what is now Cambodia and Thailand, and during that time frequently battled with the Chams of what is now Vietnam. Two million people lived in the jungles surrounding the temples for over 300 years, before the king relocated the capitol to Phnom Penh and abandoned the buildings. They remained "lost" until the early 20th century.

Angkor Wat was originally built as a Hindu temple. The lotus flower is an important symbol in both Hinduism and Buddhism. It grows out of dark, murky waters and stands tall above, pink and flawless. It represents purity, and thus the "lotus position" is a key yogic and meditative posture - legs crossed, palms up, back straight like the flower. The five peaks of Angkor Wat are all shaped like lotuses, and the temple is filled with thousands of carvings of the flower and many mini-lotus sculptures. (Later, when most of the Kingdom was Buddhist, golden Buddha statues were added.)

Height and the Universe also important in Hinduism, a religion born in the shadow and awe of the Himalayan Mountains. The East wall of Angkor depicts a massive carving of the "Churning of the Milk Sea" - showing gods and demons playing tug-of-war with a snake. The movement churns the "milk sea" which surrounds the mystical mountain on top of the universe, Mount Meru. According to the beliefs, this movement makes the world work. It was carved on the East wall so worshippers could study at sunrise. Angkor's walls are also adjourned with 1800 celestial dancers - a reminder of what is waiting in paradise for men living a just life. The moat surrounding Angkor is also representative of the universe.

As both Buddhism and Hinduism were popular in this part of the world, one of the Kings built a temple to combine the religions in efforts to help everyone get along. It combined the height of Hinduism, the faces of Hindu gods, and the male spirit of Linga (phallic symbol), with a Buddha. The result was the Bayan temple, covered with 216 faces.

One of the coolest temples was Ta Prohm, which was used in the movie "Tomb Raider." It was built for the King's mother. Instead of trying to restore it to its original state (as the French and Cambodians have done with other temples), they left it as-is, and is now overgrown with mosses and trees. It was really beautiful.

Angkor Wat turned out to be the black hole of my money (though well worth it). Entrance to the temples is $20/day. Tuk-tuk drivers run $15/day, and guides run $25/day. And in addition to that, the Cambodian kids run a highly strategic sales operation which sucks tourists dry. Arriving at Angkor my first morning, I was approached by one boy:

"Madame, do you want some coffee?"
Um, no thanks, not yet.
"OK when you buy some later, please buy from me. My name is James Bond."

Later on:
"Madame, will you buy some postcards for $1?"
Why aren't you in school?
"I need money to buy books and pens. I work from 7-12, and go to school from 1-4, and have English class from 5-7."
Wow, what do you want to be when you grow up?
"A doctor." (big smile)

And then:
"Madame, where are you from?"
California.
"The capitol of California is Sacramento. The capitol of the United States is Washington D.C. Will you buy postcards from me? Just $1."
I bought some already.
"Mine are different. You're very beautiful. Please, just $1."

I received a few hand-written notes from some of the kids that were decorated with lotus drawings and thanking me for visiting Cambodia, telling me they like my smile, and wishing me blessings.

I know my money would probably be better spent on donations to the many NGO's who are doing a lot of great work, teaching kids to fish and not just feeding them. But I'm a sucker and I bought a lot of stuff from them. I figured with English that good they probably were studying and needing the money... or at least I hope so.