I woke up early this morning for a busy day. We had to wake up early to start the day because it gets so incredibly hot during the middle of the day in Cambodia. After dressing in shorts, with leggings underneath (because we were visiting a temple) and a t-shirt that covered my shoulders I headed down to breakfast. Breakfast in the new hotel was incredible. I literally have never seen so much food in one spot in my life. Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but there was a lot of food for breakfast. I ate a wonderful breakfast and boarded the bus for our first adventure.
We traveled to Angkor Wat, entering through the back gate, where a lot of tourists wouldn’t be. It was so incredibly interesting to see and learn the history surrounding the temple. Angkor Wat was originally a Hindu temple built in the 12th century; it then became a Buddhist temple. It is one of the largest, if not the largest, religious temples in the world. It is one of Cambodia’s national symbols, and something Cambodia has come to be known for. It also appears on the Cambodian national flag. While walking to Angkor Wat itself, we saw many monkeys. There were also a few ladies around selling bananas for $1.00. After buying some bananas, we fed them to the monkeys. It was so unreal to be so incredibly close to these monkeys and to feed them. I was able to capture some great pictures. While trying, to get a picture of one of the monkey’s he started chasing after me! I screamed like a girl, typical, and back peddled while still trying to get a photo. He eventually stopped, but it left me shaking in my tracks. I kept my distance from the monkeys after that, and took my pictures from a distance. It was still so neat to be so close to monkeys. After interacting with the monkeys, we returned to our tour of Angkor Wat. I noticed that a moat surrounded the temple and there were several pools (separate for men and women) to wash in before entering the temple. The temple, like yesterday, displayed beautiful carvings that told stories of the old ancient history and culture. It was so amazing to see all the structures; they truly are a wonder of the world. I feel like I should have pages and pages to write about Angkor Wat but in all honesty I was in such awe walking around that I didn’t really pay attention to many of the historical details. I was amazed at the details and how they were still preserved after hundreds of years. The stories that each carving on the wall told were incredible, and almost unfathomable. It was hard for me to think how something so great had been created hundreds of years ago. While walking around the second level of Angkor Wat we sat down for a rest and bathroom break before heading to the third level. While we were waiting, we saw what looked like a movie production. After asking our guide, we learned that the Princess (sister of the King) was filming a documentary on traditional Khmer dancing. Blakely, a girl in our group wanted to know if we could take a picture with the Princess. Her bodyguards told us no, but when we saw others approach her for a picture we decided to do so as well. It was so neat to get a picture with a real live Princess! I don’t know if I mentioned before, but Cambodia is the only nation to go from a democracy back to having a Kingdom with a King and a Queen. The official name is The Kingdom of Cambodia. The Princess introduced us to one of the dancers as well. She was absolutely beautiful. Her hair was so long, and she almost looked more like a princess than the Princess herself! After interacting with royalty, we headed to the third level of Angkor Wat. A couple of my classmates had to change into longer pants because we were required to have pants below the knees and shirts covering our shoulders. We climbed the stairs higher, and higher until we finally reached the top. The long pants in the heat were definitely worth it. The views were breathtaking and I was able to capture some amazing pictures. I didn’t realize how high we really were until I attempted to climb back down. It was a lot harder than I had expected! Once we reached the bottom it was close to 10:30 AM. We realized how hot it was getting and Lekim decided that we could go back to our hotel for a rest.
We were given an hour to rest and relax before lunch. I so thankful for the air conditioning and the short nap I got to take. We headed to lunch after that. Lunch was a blur because I was honestly so tired still from my short nap before, and from waking up early this morning. Luckily, after lunch, Lekim gave us another hour or so to relax again. The extra naptime was much needed, and appreciated!
We headed out again mid afternoon for another exciting adventure. We arrived at the outside gate of another temple, Angkor Thom. Many of my peers wanted to ride elephants while in Cambodia and we were given the opportunity to do so this afternoon. My peers and I got to feed the elephants bananas, I think every animal here eats bananas! They would take it out of your hand with their trunk and eat it, peel and all! It was crazy! We then got to ‘board’ our elephant. There were either 2 or 3 students per elephant, depending on the size of the elephant. I was able to hop on the first elephant, which was fantastic. It was so cool to see the entrance and beginning of Angkor Thom from atop an elephant. I was convinced the whole time that I was going to rock off the side, but it never happened. The elephants were so fun to ride!
After jumping down off the elephants, we explored Angkor Thom. Like most of the other temples we toured, it too was amazing. They have definitely started restoration on Angkor Thom more than the other temples it seems like. It was a lot of fun to explore on our own. Many of us were tired despite the naps all day long. After Angkor Thom, we hiked up a mountain in hopes of seeing a beautiful sunset atop another temple. Unfortunately, the clouds were covering the sun, but it was still a beautiful panorama view. We headed back to the hotel quickly after that. I was so dirty that I was ready for a shower. I had Chaco tan lines from the dirt! I could have passed as another race, seriously.
I met the group in the lobby an hour after we returned to the hotel. It was wonderful to shower and freshen up. We headed to dinner again in a Tuk Tuk. A group of us ate in an open-air courtyard area where we ate local street food. While the service took forever, mine ended up being pretty decent. I stuck with chicken on a stick and French fries. How hard is it to mess those two things up? While we were waiting on our dinner to be served we witnessed children selling and begging first hand. We had several children approach us asking us to buy the usual post cards or bracelets. One even sat down to talk to us for a bit. I gave him a little bit of my Coca Light in a class. After finishing, he went on his merry way. When we asked him how old he was, he replied saying 8 years old. His brother walked by, smoking a cigarette and told us he was 4 years old. We ended up figuring out that his brother knew that he needed to ‘stay and look’ young to be able to make more money. His brother couldn’t have been older than 14 himself, and we saw him smoking several cigarettes. I personally was not very nice when he came up to me asking for my coke can. I donated my coke can to a dirty little boy in tattered clothing. On our way out, we witnessed a man buy this sweet child dinner. They sell the cans and bottles that they collect for money. Many children will lurk around trashcans or tables waiting for people to throw away something so simple that will help them earn money. It truly broke my heart to see this.
No comments:
Post a Comment