Angkor Complex

Nikki wanted to photograph Angkor Wat at sunrise, so we booked a 4:30 pick up with a guide for the morning. We arrived in the dark and walked wherever the guide’s flashlight shown. We got settled in on the right side of the entrance and waited for the sun. The light warming up the temple towers is beautiful to watch, as it crept in over the forty minutes that we waited. There’s a special feeling I get when I’m in the presence of iconic landmarks. I’m so grateful to witness the grandeur in person, after seeing it in books over my lifetime. If you’ve ever seen a photo of Cambodia, you’ve seen Angkor Wat.

Once the sun was up, we started our complex crawl. Angkor Wat is just one of four temples we’ll see today. It may not be the oldest but it is the most recognizable. Angkor, itself, was the capital city of the Khmer Empire between the 9th and 15th centuries. Originally built as a Hindu temple, it gradually transitioned to a Buddhist temple and still houses monks on the property. The whole area includes the largest religious complex in the world and is a recognized UNESCO World Heritage site.

Our next stop was Ta Prohm. This temple is unique in the way the jungle has tried to reclaim it. The enormous trees support a crumbling structure, creating an Indiana Jones feel. Or, more specifically, a Tomb Raider feel; the temple was used as a backdrop in the movie, with Angelina Jolie. I suspect the jungle will win eventually but for now the temple and trees are in a symbiotic dance, supporting each other.

Ta Keo followed. It was struck by lightning before it was finished, which was bad luck. As a result I don’t think it was ever completed (hard to tell from our guide’s thick Cambodian accent). Compared to the previous two temples, this one has fewer carvings and reliefs.

We took a quick break to look at monkeys before the next temple. We didn’t dare get too close, but one scared the creep out of my by gently tugging in the bottom of my pants. Sadly, they have learned to beg and eat all kinds of junk from the tourists. They were cute, though.

My favorite temple, and the one I took the most pictures of last time I was here, is Bayon temple. There are (or were) over 200 smiling faces carved into the towers. Historians are not in agreement about whose face adorns the temple, but arguments have been made for the king, the Buddha of compassion, or a Hindu god. It’s all the same to me. No matter who it is, it is the happiest building you’ll ever experience. Everywhere you look, kind eyes and a gentle smile are somewhere in your view.

We left the greater complex out the South Gate, where four smiling faces adorn each side of the tower. We crossed the old mote to return to our van.

Or late lunch involved amok. It’s a traditional Cambodian meal that is similar to Thai yellow curry but less spicy. Kim and Nikki had fried rice but after tasting mine, they decided to order the amok for lunch tomorrow.

We finished our day at the Night Market. Our goal was to sample stir fry ice cream (aka ice cream rolls). They have a bunch of stalls that sell it, so we picked one for no particular reason. I was a little hesitant but Nikki assured me that she had some in Japan and it was tasty. We ordered the chocolate coconut and watched as the woman poured the following ingredients into a measuring cup (I don’t think it was actually being used for measuring): a bit of sweetened condensed milk, a handful of fresh shredded coconut, some cream, and a few healthy squeezes of Hershey’ syrup. She fired up her generator, and a large metal pan started to frost. She poured the ingredients and began working it. She chopped and mixed repeatedly, as the material began to freeze. Eventually, she determined she had the proper consistency and spread the frozen concoction thinly over the frozen pan. She gave it a minute before getting out a fresh scraper. Just like paint that curls when you take a scraper to it, the iced cream did the same thing. We ended up with several rolls that she happily topped with peanuts and more chocolate syrup. It took us no time to eat it all. We returned to the hotel with happy bellies.Read more