Siem Reap, Cambodia –
“Wait till mid-day. It’ll be less crowded.”
I have to admit, he had a point. It was less crowded. Because it was BAKING HOT!
So, with a fresh bottle of water in my pack, I reluctantly got out of the air-conditioned car, and put one foot in front of the other, walking the length of the bridge over the moat.
As I paused, feeling the heat reflecting off the stones, doing its best to try and melt my shoes, I saw what looked like a wedding party coming my way. They all looked miserable. Then again, if I had been wearing a suit, I would probably look pretty much the same, no matter how happy I was supposed to be.
Still, they looked Cambodian, so I assumed that they were local, and knew what they were getting into.
Finally across the water, and into the perimeter building, I was in the shade, and it felt wonderful. At least in comparison.
Buddha to the left of me, Buddha to my right, Buddha in front of me. Everywhere I look, every juncture in this building, there was a Buddha, with an attendant accepting donations in exchange for fresh, lit, incense sticks.
Having already paid my homage to the local deity, I hurried past, only to find myself back out in the heat, facing a long causeway with no chance of shade.
Oh well, this is what you came here for. Take a sip of water, then put one foot in front of the other, and tally ho! Or something like that…
Back in the shade at the other end of the causeway, I could spend some time in the outer ring of the building, looking at the images on the wall. The whole time I was looking at the images, I knew that I’m eventually going to have to venture out into the courtyard to reach the next level of interior chambers, only to repeat the same sequence again shortly after. When I reached the final level, I was faced with a long climb up a steep stair, but first had to pass through a checkpoint to make sure I was suitably attired. After all, this is an active Buddhist temple, and it wouldn’t do to allow in those deemed unworthy, those who might be dressed appropriately for the heat.
Luckily, I passed muster, although I can’t say the same for some confused bohemian-types in front and behind me.
“Spaghetti-straps don’t cover my shoulders? Of course not! It’s hot out here. I don’t want my shoulders covered. I want to wear as little as I can without getting arrested for indecent exposure!”
Well guess what, either you cover those shoulders are you will not be allowed up those stairs!
Once inside the inner sanctum, there were more Buddhas in the darkest chambers of the entire structure, roped off from those who had come to visit. Draped in saffron robes, they were dressed much like the monks that I had seen around the grounds.
Eventually, I began making my way back out of the complex. I was hot, sweaty, and tired. I would be very grateful to have a chance to sit in some air-conditioned comfort for a while.
Plus, I still had a half-hour or so to wait for my driver to get back from whatever errand he had said he needed to run.
As I was leaving, passing by a large Buddha in the outer wall, a group of Japanese men were coming in. They all saw the statue and immediately started pulling out money to donate and performing the ritual movements, like they had no choice. All I could think was, if they are compelled to do that at each statue they come across, they’d be broke long before they leave. There are Buddha statues everywhere, at every juncture of passageways, not just at the top level. In this way, the whole complex is a Buddhist temple. And every one of those Buddha statues has a donation box, a large urn filled with sand to stick the incense in, and an attendant to make sure you get your lit incense sticks and do your bows if you make a donation.
Good thing I didn’t feel that same compulsion…
Once back across the moat, there was a restaurant across the street, the Angkor Café. Just what I needed: food and air-conditioning.
Maybe it was the heat getting to my head. Maybe I was comparing it to the roadside, open-air cafe where I had eaten breakfast outside of Ta Phohm earlier that morning. Looking around once I had been seated, and had unburdened myself of all the camera equipment I was carting around, I was impressed with the place. It was a nice resort restaurant, or would have been if not for the gift shop portion where they were happy to sell you all sorts of souvenirs of your visit.
However, I came to it, I had the impression that this seemed like a good place to relax for lunch. The staff was running around in bright, colorful uniforms. And the dishes on the menu sounded appetizing.
I had a dish, stir-fried pork, which consisted of thin slices of pork, slices of sweet potato (about half the dish) and green and red bell peppers, liberally sprinkled with sesame seeds and stir-fried in a ginger sauce. It was quite tasty. It hit the spot.
Once finished, the staff probably would have let me continue to sit and wait, but I was getting antsy. So, I gathered up all my equipment, put it all back on, and went back outside to wait for my driver to arrive.
Luckily, I didn’t have long to wait.
For more photos of Angkor Wat, click here.
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