Angkor Wat!!

Angkor WHAT? Angkor WAT! We finally got to Angkor last Wednesday, and let me tell you -- it was incredible.

This temple is pretty freaking amazing, actually. It was built in the 11th century by Suryavarman II. He was a god-king and was responsible for bringing Hindu influence to Khmer life. The temple complex is HUGE, and there are many different levels and sections. The whole complex is surrounded by a moat, called a baray. It's supposed to signify the mythical cosmic ocean from which all is born -- most temples in this era have moats for this reason.

Angkor Wat is a temple built to celebrate the Hindu god Vishnu, and the whole complex is covered in images, murals, and statues that celebrate the gods and the Hindu myths. Literally every inch of stone is carved or decorated. I could bore you all with more about the history, but instead I will just tell you go check out the Wikipedia page (haha) and provide you with lots of pictures!!

Crossing the baray

Looking up inside the main gate

Looking out into the courtyard

Main courtyards, Angkor in the back!

Verandas all the way around the temple

Tim and the depiction of the Ramayana

Me! And Vishnu's turtle incarnation in the myth "Churning of the Great Ocean of Milk"

Climbing up into the temple towers!

Me and my kroma!

Beautiful carvings

Here we are at Angkor!

best friends.

First trip into Angkor Park -- Kulen Mtn and Bontaey Srei!

Last Saturday was a fantastic adventure in the great outdoors! We woke up very early and took a tuk-tuk into Angkor Park. The park spans hundreds of kilometers and there are many different sites and cities all over the place -- we drove about an hour and a half out into the wilderness! We arrived at the base of a small mountain called Mt. Kulen, which is famous for its pre-Angkor carvings in the river beds.

Tim on the way up Mt. Kulen!

Cool forest trees!

Over 1,000 years ago, the people in the valley believed in the sacred power of the waters, and so they carved thousands of linga designs and depictions of Hindu texts into the rocks along the river...quite a sight to behold!

Amazing!

Here I am on the way back down!

Butterflies!

 The best part of the whole hike was coming down -- at the bottom we were greeted by three adorable puppies! I am a total sucker for the dogs here, and I was very tempted to put one in my backpack :)

                   

                 Adorable.



Our next stop on this lovely day of adventuring was to a beautiful temple called Bontaey Srei ('Citadel for Women') which was built after Angkor Wat. It is famous for its use of pink/red sandstone, and it really is spectacular!

The gateway into the temple

Beautiful carvings

Thousands of intricate carvings dedicated to the gods

Tim and I

It was a beautiful day, hot, but gorgeous and we had a fantastic time visiting all of these ancient sites! I am always amazed when confronted with the massive engineering tasks that were possible a thousand years ago!

Next post: Behold ANGKOR WAT!

Thanksgiving, Cambodian Style!

Well, not quite Cambodian style -- but definitely in Cambodia!

To be honest, I wasn't really expecting that Thanksgiving would be so hard to miss. I felt a little bit sad to not be with all of my family and friends back home. But Tim, Anna and I had a wonderful family dinner at a delicious Indian restaurant! It made me realize that it doesn't matter where you are, it's who you're with. I've been able to have my own little family of close friends and mentors since I've been over here, and I am very thankful for that!

We went around the table and told each other what we were thankful for -- the spirit of Thanksgiving lives even from 15,000 miles away!

Happy Family!

Peace and love and good food!

Told ya, Mom, I'd be eating rice on Turkey Day!

Only a 'Real Indian Chef'

Here we are with full bellies in front of our hotel!

Thursday also happened to be the Memorial Day for the Water Festival tragedy that had taken place three days previously, so we had even more reason to be thankful and reflective. We all wore white in honor of those who were killed. It was a very special night -- good friends and good food are pretty much universal!

Sambor Prei Kuk -- 11/24

Siem Reap is close to all the major temple sites of the ancient Khmer empire -- the economy up here is completely tourist-driven, but it gives us great opportunities to see some amazing places!

Angkor Wat is the main attraction, but before we went gallivanting around there, our professor thought we should get our feet wet by seeing pre-Angkor monuments. It's been really fun because we get to go through all the temples in chronological order. 

Our first stop was Sambor Prei Kuk on the first capital of ancient Chenla, pre-Khmer empire. It was quite a journey getting there! We rented a car and a driver and drove about 2 hours east of Siem Reap. The city's access road brought us deep into a forest, and it was a bumpy ride! For 45 minutes we were tossed and bumped about in the back seat, rolling over potholes a meter wide and half a meter deep. It was like riding on a roller coaster!

The whole city of Sambor Prei Kuk spans many miles of forest and rolling hills, and there are 280 temples within the complex! Only half of them are still (or almost) standing today, and they are divided up into four groups (North - South - East - West) and each temple is built for a different Hindu deity. This city marks the beginning of a movement in the building of cities that focuses on Hindu worship. Here are some pictures from the visit!

Damage from bombs that the United States dropped at this site during the Vietnam War

Prasat Nam Chii, built 7th century. The tree is over 300 years old!

Restoration projects and archeological digs

Here we are in front of Prasat Tao ('Lion Temple')

Tim's a little hungry!

An old man we met -- he was gathering medicinal herbs for his village

ME! In front of South Temple 1 (some of them don't have names anymore!)

It was a wonderful visit because we could stroll along the paths leisurely. It was pleasantly cool as we were covered by trees -- a nice break from the heat! (It's still around 90 degrees here). I'm starting to get excited for snow and cold weather, I'm tired of sweating!

More very soon :)