Day 2: Angkor Wat/Phnom Bakheng

Once more my morning started earlier than expected and earlier than desired. Racing the sun on its ascension to the sky, my eyes opened at 5:30am. Miraculously, my two roommates, including one that had landed at 10:30pm, awoke at the same exact time. Not only were our eyes open, but also we were full functional and immediately dived into a conversation. My energy did not feel the toll from the lack of extra morning sleep, and I soon found myself wiggling into a familiar wooden school desk in the guesthouse for class. After a quick introduction to the expectations for the class, the writings, and general information, we hustled into our tuk tuks, which now were enhanced by the presence of English speaking guides, and headed to the ancient beauty, Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat’s unique ambience, its sandstone and washed away structure, its intricate wall carvings, and surrounding moat overshadowed the obviously raided and dilapidated city and temple that once was a bustling cosmopolitan and home to 1 million people while London was a mere 30,000. Our guide, Chen, was a long-breathed, intelligent and smiling man. In fact, his stories and knowledge were so in-depth that we found ourselves far behind tour groups and the last ones to depart. The temple was particularly interesting because it had endured two reigning religions in Cambodia. First, until the twelfth century, Hinduism was the widespread practiced religion in Cambodia. However, after the twelfth century Buddhism took hold. Today, as I understand, the religion is a mixture of their historical Hindu roots and practiced Buddhism. In fact, Chen pointed out a couple praying, prostrated with incense in hand, to the Hindu God Shiva while they spoke verses of Buddhist prayers. Never have I seen the two religions so mixed in this remarkable “marriage,” and its certainly something I have never witnessed anywhere else in such an evident and strong fashion.

Departing Angkor Wat, my tuk tuk driver maneuvered through the countryside and back to the B&B. Today the tuk tuk drive was refreshing compared to the “hustle and bustle” of the Old Market, and entered the rural area of town where cows grazed beside the road, kids rode bikes with baby siblings hanging on, and shops were open aired to invite friends and family to come in from the dust filled streets. In addition, I could not help but once more be captivated by the continuous aroma of burning wood and incense. Some of my favorite smells greeted me every moment of every day, who could ask for more?

After a lunch of delicious coconut curry chicken and steamed rice and an hour nap, I heaved myself back into the tuk tuk and we headed off for our miniature hike to the older and more disheveled temple at the top of a hill. Our plan was to see the sunset atop the hill, but because the cloud littered sky, the sunset would have to wait for another day. Instead, we people watched, took photos, and engaged in various conversations with our guide. Surprisingly, I observed that the majority of tourists were Asian. Whether they were from neighboring countries or from farther away countries, such as Japan, they far outnumbered European and American tourists.

Now, the day is winding down and after dinner I find myself switching towards thoughts of writing blogs and essays. Despite having to do some more reading for my 8am class tomorrow, I will hopefully take a stroll with a few people from my group to a small open “restaurant” next door to get a beer at some point. I hope it is $0.50 since it is a local place.

So far I haven’t gotten to try any of their Cambodian beer or infamous dishes, but I surely intend to.