Major Wattage

Happily I am not the only teacher at my school that is still writing blogs from a vacation he had over a month ago. The sad part is that while the others have around 5 weeks of material to slog through, my SE Asian tour lasted a mere 10 days before I had to return home for most of the Spring Festival. Well, here's the second to last of it...

Siem Reap, the Kissimmee, FL of Cambodia, was unlike anyplace I had ever been. Maybe Atlantic City is similar. It bordered on surreality as the love-child of the 1st and 3rd worlds. The day after are arrival we got up bright and early to hit the Ancient City of Angkor. Of course since Angkor is the only reason anyone comes to Siem Reap (or Cambodia) all non-Cambodians within city limits were going there too. After getting our tickets (and making it expressively clear to our Tuk-Tuk driver that we were hiring him for one-way, not the entire day), we were off to see the Mother of all Wats, Angkor. Without any sort of reference or guide, the temple was overwhelming. Bas-reliefs on every wall told some tale related to Buddhism or Hinduism (it had been a center for both religions). It became necessary to backtrack, mooching here and there off tour guides I hadn't paid for. Never before had I been so thankful for knowing German.

This strategy caused me to frequently peel off from my traveling companions, which I think annoyed them. But it was either that or missing out on an explanation of "The Churning of the Sea of Milk" or the Indian epic Ramayana (mah favorite). Most of the stonework was concentrated on the outer corridors of the Wat. As you moved inward you went higher, until you reached the upper courtyard with some nice stupas which were regretfully closed that day.

Outside the Wat I bit the bullet and bought a great $5 book about the whole site and then met up again with Ken and Dan, for a slushee (national drink of Cambodia and Thailand). We took another Tuk Tuk up a long ancient boulevard infested by greedy monkeys and arrived at our next stop--Bayon, another massive, but far less restored, temple. In fact as Ken pointed out, it seemed like if the rebuilders couldn't figure out where a brick went, they just threw it into one of several massive piles on the perimeter.

But the dilapidation and hazards made it feel more rustic and authentic, and so as I walked through the maze-like interior, hopping over each crevasse and pitfall, I couldn't help but hum the theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Like Angkor Wat there were some nice statues and bas-reliefs...and a phallic Hindu linga just sitting in one corner.

After that we made our way up to another ancient complex called Angkor Thom. To write about the rest would be repetitive, even though it was all still cool. About an hour was spent conversing with the child-hawkers. We tried talking to them about their country and they tried to sell us T-shirts.

I later doubled back alone to Angkor Wat to look at things I had missed sans guide, the plan being to meet on a hilltop and catch the sunset illuminating the Wat. I tarried too long and had to rush back, hoping on the back of one of the motorcycle-taxis, and then racing up the slope. Apparently everyone else had the same idea we did--the temple on top was packed with people and I had to navigate steep narrow steps that had become bleachers for the onlookers. The sunset was just so-so, but in the dusk light and mist the surrounding plains became incredibly exotic.

And that was my day. Leb Wohl.