Angkor...What?

This morning, Jon and I woke up at 5:40a.m. to get on a 7a.m. boat ride from Siam Reap (home to the famous Angkor Wat) to Battambang. What was meant to be a scenic pleasant trip to soak in a new view of Cambodia (including many floating villages and narrow straits) turned into an overcrowded teeny boat of people trying to squeeze into a small space meant to fit half the people, since everyone was trying to escape constant rain on the roof deck. Fittingly, this was the only day so far in Cambodia that it has rained in the morning...what are ya gonna do?? We arrived at 4p.m. after a long 9-hr day of standing, squirming, back aching, reading, and lip-syncing to Jon’s ipod accompanied by some silly dancing, which made me laugh seeing as we were tightly fit in the aisle, jealously eyeing the comfortably seated travelers. The relief to be off the boat was amazing, and the glorious air-conditioning and hot shower in our $10 hotel room was the cherry topping I needed....

So far in Cambodia, we’ve done some pretty intense sight-seeing. Actually, although Cambodia is known to be super cheap, we’ve already spent more money than expected, and all on satisfying our tourist needs. The $40 3-day admission to Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples seems steep, but in American terms it’s definitely not...plus, it goes towards helping restoration/conservation efforts as well as towards the Children’s Hospital/Orphanage, which feels like a worthy cause.

I heard a lot of hype about Angkor Wat and I have to admit that I was a little nervous to see it: I didn’t want to be disappointed and I didn’t want Jon to feel like I didn’t appreciate such a magnanimous structure, especially since it made such a big impact on him when he visited the site 2 years ago. Luckily, the sum of the temples truly blew me away. It was so great to climb the steep, and at times dangerous, steps of the temples, taking in the panorama from a fuller perspective. Angkor Wat has this amazing quality to it, esthetically, embodying a kind of ominous presence with dark rough stones, unrefined and unforgiving. The other temples also had a beautiful melange of colors: rusted grays and browns with beautiful sea-greenish splotches showing signs of decay. In the midst of the destruction was true beauty. Many of the bas-reliefs of Hindu and Buddhist gods and kings were in surprisingly good shape, maintaining intense detail and depth in the clay stone.

My favorite was Ta Phrom, most famous for its appearance in the movie Tomb Raider (I never saw it, but apparently Angelina Jolie is a hot fighting machine in a sexy tank top who shoots big guns and kicks ass). I loved it most because it had totally succumbed to the natural elements. Huge tree roots look like massive octopi engulfing entire edifices and creeping their way in, out, and around every crevice. If you’ve seen Spirited Away, they look like a bizarre creature from that world. If you haven’t seen it, see it.

You can give as much hype to Angkor Wat as you like, but it doesn’t demean what it’s worth...or at least it shouldn’t...it didn’t for me. Physically being there brings to life an experience that’s liking breathing in a new fresh breath (clearly not literally the dusty Cambodian air) that succinct coherent recounts would only serve to degrade.

Until next time...Em