(pt 2) Can I get a Wat Wat

After exploring Bangkok, the four of us flew to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat. There are so many temples (wats) that you could spend a full week exploring and still not see everything. The temples were spectacular, and its easy to see how powerful the Khmer empire was one thousand years ago.

Even in the tourist oasis of Siem Reap, the country's tragic history and crushing poverty are on full display. Cambodia's civil war and lunatic government lead to the torture and death of 1/3 of the country's population just a few decades ago, including everyone with any education at all. One of our guides lost his father and three brothers as a child. Young children swarm tourists, begging and selling knickknacks. Groups of musicians crippled by leftover landmines play music for tourists in hope of living with some dignity. A cab driver waited for us for three hours in order to get a $2 fare. A massage costs $2 or $3 an hour, and the masseuse probably takes home half of that.

Day 1

Preah Kahn. This massive temple is filled with a maze of corridors, and the pictures don't do justice to just how endless the halls are. As you walk through, each door gets smaller and smaller, giving the impression of looking into a mirror. The temple was designed this way intentionally, forcing visitors to respectfully bow lower and lower the closer to the holy statues they got.



Preah Neak Poan. A small temple surrounded by water. In it's heyday the four pools surrounding the central pool were believed to have healing powers. Our guide described it as an ancient hospital.


Eastern Meborn. By the third temple of the day, we were all exhausted and had yet to eat lunch.



Bantai Srei. This small, well preserved temple has some of the best stone carvings in the world. Every inch of stone is beautifully carved.




Pre Rup. We went to this temple for sunset. By now we were so tired and had seen enough temples that we didn't even bother looking around. We just sat with a bunch of other tourists and watched a mediocre sunset.

Day 2

Angkor Wat. Still tired from the day before, we woke up at 4 AM to catch sunrise at Angkor Wat. This is the biggest temple in the region. Before we got to Cambodia I thought that all of the temples in the area were called Angkor Wat, but no.. It's just one of many temples.

Angkor Wat from a distance. Great shot Janet.

The first level of the temple contains nearly 1 kilometer of intricately carved bas reliefs telling Hindu stories.

These patched bullet holes are remnants of the recent civil war.

Our guide explaining the Hindu stories.

The back of Angkor Wat.

Ta Phrom. The guides also call this temple "Tomb Raider" as this is where the movie was shot. Nature wants this land back.



Baphoun. The world's biggest jigsaw puzzle. The temple was dismantled as part of restoration efforts, but then the civil war broke out and all of the records of how to put it back together were destroyed. It's been halfway restored in the last 15 years.


Bayon. One of the coolest temples. Four expressive faces are carved into 54 towers.
The post is getting long, so we'll talk about Cambodia Day 3 tomorrow! Preview: After two days of wats, we were templed out, so we went to a centuries old village that is under water half of the year.