The Jewel In The Crown

Set picked us up at 10:30 and we headed northeast of town to the Cambodian Land Mine Museum, also an orphanage. The museum was founded by Aki Ra, a former child soldier, orphaned at a very young age when the Khmer Rouge killed his parents and put him into the Khmer military. He was taught to set landmines and planted thousands during his time of conscription. In 1995 he began clearing and collecting landmines, first on his own, later with international organizations. He is also raising many orphaned, and limbless, landmine victims. It is estimated that as many as 7 million active landmines are still buried in Cambodia and efforts are still underway to clear the land of these mines.


We left the museum digesting what we had learned and contemplating the horrible toll war exacts on innocent people.

P- I had no idea that we were bombing the hell out of Cambodia during the Vietnam war.

G- Neither did I, and the fact that we dropped more bombs, ONLY on Cambodia, than we dropped during the entirety of WWII is astounding.

P- I had heard the term 'carpet bombing', but now that I know more about it, it disgusts me that our government was willing to just kill so many innocent Cambodian people to cut off the Vietnamese supply lines.

G- Everything about the Vietnam war was fucked! We should never have been involved. If we had minded our own business, Americans would not have died, and the Vietnamese and Cambodians would have been better off.

P- It pisses me off that America is one of the countries that still won't sign The Mine Ban Treaty (banning the use of landmines) or the Cluster Munitions Treaty (prohibiting the dropping of cluster bombs that fall randomly to earth striking unintended targets).  Even worese is the list of the other countries who won't sign.  They're the countries we are always bitching about how bad they are, and we're one of them.
http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/  and http://www.icbl.org/


G- Yeah! That's what pisses me off the most about America! That we're hypocrits. You know how I hate hypocrits. Do as we say, not as we do. Like we're the moral arbitors of the world when, in reality, we are no better than the countries we wag our fingers at and act morally superior to.

P- It's amazing the Cambodians are so welcoming and sweet to us after what we did to them. I love these people!

G- Me too. They are so genuine and warm. I really like them.





We stopped for lunch and invited Set to eat with us. He ordered a fish curry or fish amok (a soup type dish, but filled with a lot of vegetables- more than a normal soup). We ordered a rice dish. It was a very communal eating arrangement as we ate some of his soup, taking it right from his bowl with our spoons, and he eating some of our rice in the same fashion. It was a good thing we are not freaky about such things. It was, however, somewhat disconcerting when Set pulled fish bones out of his mouth and dropped them on the floor under the table. Don't confuse this restaurant with a western style restaurant; this restaurant has concrete/dirt floors. The sucking of the teeth, apparently ok in Cambodia, was the most disgusting part. Thankfully, we were finished eating before that commenced.

After lunch we headed for the jewel in the crown of the Temples of Angkor, Angkor Wat. It was constructed between 1113 and 1150, during the reign of Suryavarman II, as the capital of the Khmer Empire and as the State Temple dedicated to Vishnu. It is the world's largest religious monument, a microcosm of the Hindu universe, with 600 meters (just under 2,000 feet or 7 football fields) of narrative bas reliefs and almost 2,000 apsaras. The moat around the temple, 200 yards wide, represents the mythical oceans surrounding the earth and the concentric galleries represent the mountain ranges surrounding Mount Meru, the home of the gods. The towers, carved to look like closed lotus flowers, represent the mountain peaks. Climbing to the central shrine immitates climbing a real mountain.

The sheer scale of Angkor Wat is impressive, but for us, the bas reliefs made Angkor Wat phenominal. The carvings are exquisite and in such fantastic condition one need not strain to discern the figures carved onto the walls. The primary subject matter is Hindu epics except for a wall depicting the historic procession of Suryavarman II and the wall representing heaven & hell. We spent hours walking along the galleries absorbing the epics as they unfolded along the walls.

G- Did that dumbass just touch the relief?

P- Yes, I've seen several people doing that. They're either Chinese or Korean.

G- What the hell is wrong with them? If everyone rubs and touches the reliefs, they'll disappear in less time than it took to make it.

P- I want to smack them every time I see someone do it! There should be more security here making sure no one touches them.

G- Hell, the tour guide we had at Bayon touched the reliefs. I was thinking then that he should know better than that.

P- It's crazy.

We watched the sun drop behind the outer wall of Angkor Wat as we walked on the causeway toward the entrance. As usual, we were swarmed by kids selling things as we looked for Set and our tuk-tuk.

Kid #1– You buy bracelet?

P- No, thank you, we already bought bracelets.

Kid #1 – But you not buy from me.

P- Yes, but we already have. We don't need more.

Kid #1 – You buy bracelet from me.

Kid #2 – Lady, you buy bracelet from me.

P- No, thank you. (Ah-tay Ah-cun)

Kid #2 – If you don't buy, I cry.

P- If you cried everytime someone didn't buy your bracelets, you'd be crying all day.

About 8 kids were around the tuk-tuk, each counting the number of bracelets we could buy for “one dolla”. A little girl about 7 years old came up next to me and began her counting. She looked up at me with big, brown, long-lashed eyes as she counted.

Kid #3 – You please buy bracelets.

G- No, thank you, sweetie. I already have bracelets.

Kid #3 – Please buy. Please.

G- Shit! Ok, give me the bracelets. (This elicited a huge smile!)

P- Now why did you do that? You know the money is not going to her.

G- I know. I know. I'm weak and I can't take it. Sometimes I crack. Those big eyes and smile just melt my heart.

P- I know. I do love these Cambodian kids.  I want to take some home with me.

G- What? Who are you? I think some Angor Wat spirit has invaded your body.  I know how you feel, but we are not taking any kids home.  Who do you think we are, BranJolina?

P- Very funny.  You know what I mean.  I don't really want to take any home.

We rode back to Rosy's kind've sad that this was our last day at the temples. Something about them had gotten into our souls. It is impossible to describe, and no doubt many visitors never feel it, but Phyl and I were in agreement that our time in the Angor Temples has left an indelible mark on us. But the actual temple Angkor Wat was not our favorite. Instead, we preferred Ta Prohm and Preah Kahn.

Our Favorite Temples

We had Set pick us up at 10:30 and headed to the temples. Our first stop was Ta Prohm, dating to the late 12th Century and built during Jayavarman VII, it is located northeast of Angkor Wat and east of Angkor Thom. This may be our favorite temple due to the fact that it was left in a natural state. Strangler figs and silk cotton trees are intertwined among the ruins. This is the temple of Indiana Jones and Laura Croft Tomb Raider fame. It's original name was Rajavihara, 'the royal monestary'.

Exploring the mountains of collapsed stones and hidden passageways, we spent several hours here and loved the atmosphere. Ta Prohm provided us the emotional connection to the past that no other temple had heretofore afforded.

After exploring Ta Prohm, we stopped to eat and asked Set to join us for lunch over which we learned that he is married with a 3 year old daughter. He also goes to school in the morning from 7:30 – 8:30 to study English. We asked why he did not also provide tour guide services and he explained that in order to get a license, course work costing $2,000.00, which he could not afford, had to first be completed.

After lunch we visited Preah Khan. Situated just north and a slight bit east of Angkor Thom, it was built around 1191. For a perspective on the 12th Century in the rest of the world, Notre Dame Cathedral was being built, in Paris, around this same time. Preah Khan was more than just a temple. It was a Buddhist university with over 1,000 teachers, and a considerable city. A moat surrounds this city, thus it has entrance causeways lined with Gods holding a Naga tail.

Preah Khan is very similar to Ta Prohm in that it is in a natural state of ruin, reclaimed by the jungle and choked by strangler figs and silk cotton trees. We spent several hours exploring this beautiful temple and imagining what it was like to find it in the early 1900's. In one of the courtyards we spotted 2 young painters, their portfolio spread, on the path, at their feet. Their paintings were fantastic!!

P- Wow! Look at their paintings. They are very good.

G- They are. Let's take a few pictures over here, then look at them. I like the one on top, of the tree in Ta Prohm.

We took our photos and when we returned, they were wrapping a painting for another tourist who had made a purchase. He said, “they are very good! I have seen painters all around Cambodia, but these 2 are the best. And so young.”

P- We agree, that's why we came back to see what they had and buy one.

G- (we looked through the paintings) I really like this one.

P- I like that one too. But I want that one of the Ta Prohm tree. Do you see it?

G- No, I can't find it.

Artist – Which one you want?

P- The one of the tree on Ta Prohm.

Artist – That man you talk to , he buy it.

G- Damn! What are the odds of that?! That's the one we came back to buy.

P- Whah! Flashback from Ubud. Why can't we buy a painting that we like?

G- I do like the one of the 4 headed towers of Bayon.

P- I like that one too, but I really want the one of the tree. Do you have any other paintings of the Ta Prohm tree?

Artist – No, but I make another for you. You come back tomorrow?

G- No, we're not coming back here.

Artist – Where you stay? In Seim Reap?

P – Yes.

Artist – I can make one and bring it to you. What is your guesthouse?

G- You'll make another one this afternoon and bring it to us tonight?

Artist – Yes. But cannot paint the tree at Ta Prohm. My brother and I will find a tree here, like tree at Ta Prohm, and paint it.

P- Gi, that ok with you?

G- Yes, that might be even cooler because they're painting it just for us. And I really like Preah Khan too. I'm good with that.

P- Ok, you'll come to our guesthouse tonight?

Artist – Yes. Where is it? What time will you be there?

G- Meet us at Rosie's Guesthouse. It is along the river. Do you know it?

Artist – No.

G- Wait! I have a card in my pocket. (I handed him the card.) Meet us there at 7:00 pm. Is that ok?

Artist – Yes. We will paint it and meet you there at 7 o'clock.

P- You promise that you will come?

Artist – Yes, yes. We come.

G- Ok, and please bring this one too and we'll buy both.

We negotiated a price of $30.00 for the 2 paintings, and left hoping that the brothers would come to the guesthouse as promised. After the Ubud incident, we were nervous.

It is often said that the Temples of Angkor Wat were “discovered” in the early 20th Century. This is western idea much like the notion that Columbus “discovered” America even though people had been living there for hundreds of years, and it's likely that the Chinese landed on the continent before the Europeans. The Temples of Angkor were always known to the people living in and around Cambodia. It was only that they came to the attention of the western world in the early 20th Century.

Finally, we stopped at Banteay Kdei, just southeast of Ta Prohm. Built in the late 12th – early 13th Century, it is believed to have been built on the ruins of a 10th Century temple. This temple is also in a state of disrepair akin to Ta Prohm & Preah Khan, but lacks the charm of those 2 temples. It does contain many well preserved Apsaras in the Hall of Dancers, but overall is smaller and less preserved. Set had admonished us not to save too much time for this temple and he was correct.