Today we were tourist! A tuk tuk with Monk Hun arrived at 7:30 and off we went. We drove on the main road along with countless motorcycles, bicycles, cars, carts, two wheeled tractors pulling huge loads of a multitude of stuff piled high & precariously and semi trucks. Along the way, Monk Hun gave us some background information about the temples we'd be seeing. An then, there one was—Banteay Srei in all it's glory and yet wearing the face of an ancient one. The 10th century Hindu temple—a palace for gods—built with exquisite decorative carvings which in some areas, have amazingly survived. Taking a closer look, you see faces of many gods, musicians, animals, flowers & foliage covering every inch. The endless scenes depict events with great detail. Some glorious & others gory. Facial expressions, clothing, hairstyles, jewelry-so much detail! Who designed all this??? Who carved all this in sandstone?? How can it have survived over 1000 years?? Just incredible. After an hour, we headed to a lunch spot. Monk Honk needs to eat before noon-which is nice cause I was hungry & restaurants are nearly empty. Hun picked a great one, of course. I got egg rolls again & D Coke and Rog got sweet & sour chicken. Who knew we'd get Chinese food here? Actually, Hun says it's Cambodian food. The next temple we were awed by was Ta Prohm, late 12th century. This Buddhist temple is being strangled by the massive roots of trees. One of them is now called Tomb Raider and it's where Angelin Jolie picked the jasmine flower. Next we crossed over a bridge lined with figures of gods, passed under a gigantic gateway to discover the Bayon Temple (12th century/Buddist). I was struck again by the details in the carvings especially the humongous smiling faces. There's not enough time to describe the many scenes carved in the walls. Rog loved the scene where a man is tickling the foot of a swordsman. Monkeys liked this temple too. On our way back to our tuk tuk, we passed a band playing. Several plastic legs were propped next to the stage & a sign informed us that they'd been land mine victims. Monk Hun had planned our day well. He left the best for last, Angkor Wat. The jewel. Surrounded by a vast moat. It is considered "heaven on earth", Mt Olympus of the Hindu faith. To me, I consider it an ultimate gem of a might, brilliant & talented ancient civilization. Over a million people lived in this, the biggest city in Asia at the time. Complete with libraries, post office, hospitals, pharmacy and schools. Angkor Wat's massive walls tell in their exquisite carvings, so many Hindu stories of gods which would fill volumes of books…but as the saying goes, "a carving is worth a thousand words." Angkor Wat is truly a magnificent site to see and let soak into your being.
And the cherry on top, was that our guide was Monk Hon. Many tourist stopped and honored him with a bow and asked to have pictures taken with him. I felt very honored, humbled and lucky to walk among these hallowed temples with him.
Monday, January 22, 2024
Update #5
Today we were tourist! A tuk tuk with Monk Hun arrived at 7:30 and off we went. We drove on the main road along with countless motorcycles, bicycles, cars, carts, two wheeled tractors pulling huge loads of a multitude of stuff piled high & precariously and semi trucks. Along the way, Monk Hun gave us some background information about the temples we'd be seeing. An then, there one was—Banteay Srei in all it's glory and yet wearing the face of an ancient one. The 10th century Hindu temple—a palace for gods—built with exquisite decorative carvings which in some areas, have amazingly survived. Taking a closer look, you see faces of many gods, musicians, animals, flowers & foliage covering every inch. The endless scenes depict events with great detail. Some glorious & others gory. Facial expressions, clothing, hairstyles, jewelry-so much detail! Who designed all this??? Who carved all this in sandstone?? How can it have survived over 1000 years?? Just incredible. After an hour, we headed to a lunch spot. Monk Honk needs to eat before noon-which is nice cause I was hungry & restaurants are nearly empty. Hun picked a great one, of course. I got egg rolls again & D Coke and Rog got sweet & sour chicken. Who knew we'd get Chinese food here? Actually, Hun says it's Cambodian food. The next temple we were awed by was Ta Prohm, late 12th century. This Buddhist temple is being strangled by the massive roots of trees. One of them is now called Tomb Raider and it's where Angelin Jolie picked the jasmine flower. Next we crossed over a bridge lined with figures of gods, passed under a gigantic gateway to discover the Bayon Temple (12th century/Buddist). I was struck again by the details in the carvings especially the humongous smiling faces. There's not enough time to describe the many scenes carved in the walls. Rog loved the scene where a man is tickling the foot of a swordsman. Monkeys liked this temple too. On our way back to our tuk tuk, we passed a band playing. Several plastic legs were propped next to the stage & a sign informed us that they'd been land mine victims. Monk Hun had planned our day well. He left the best for last, Angkor Wat. The jewel. Surrounded by a vast moat. It is considered "heaven on earth", Mt Olympus of the Hindu faith. To me, I consider it an ultimate gem of a might, brilliant & talented ancient civilization. Over a million people lived in this, the biggest city in Asia at the time. Complete with libraries, post office, hospitals, pharmacy and schools. Angkor Wat's massive walls tell in their exquisite carvings, so many Hindu stories of gods which would fill volumes of books…but as the saying goes, "a carving is worth a thousand words." Angkor Wat is truly a magnificent site to see and let soak into your being.
And the cherry on top, was that our guide was Monk Hon. Many tourist stopped and honored him with a bow and asked to have pictures taken with him. I felt very honored, humbled and lucky to walk among these hallowed temples with him.
Today we were tourist! A tuk tuk with Monk Hun arrived at 7:30 and off we went. We drove on the main road along with countless motorcycles, bicycles, cars, carts, two wheeled tractors pulling huge loads of a multitude of stuff piled high & precariously and semi trucks. Along the way, Monk Hun gave us some background information about the temples we'd be seeing. An then, there one was—Banteay Srei in all it's glory and yet wearing the face of an ancient one. The 10th century Hindu temple—a palace for gods—built with exquisite decorative carvings which in some areas, have amazingly survived. Taking a closer look, you see faces of many gods, musicians, animals, flowers & foliage covering every inch. The endless scenes depict events with great detail. Some glorious & others gory. Facial expressions, clothing, hairstyles, jewelry-so much detail! Who designed all this??? Who carved all this in sandstone?? How can it have survived over 1000 years?? Just incredible. After an hour, we headed to a lunch spot. Monk Honk needs to eat before noon-which is nice cause I was hungry & restaurants are nearly empty. Hun picked a great one, of course. I got egg rolls again & D Coke and Rog got sweet & sour chicken. Who knew we'd get Chinese food here? Actually, Hun says it's Cambodian food. The next temple we were awed by was Ta Prohm, late 12th century. This Buddhist temple is being strangled by the massive roots of trees. One of them is now called Tomb Raider and it's where Angelin Jolie picked the jasmine flower. Next we crossed over a bridge lined with figures of gods, passed under a gigantic gateway to discover the Bayon Temple (12th century/Buddist). I was struck again by the details in the carvings especially the humongous smiling faces. There's not enough time to describe the many scenes carved in the walls. Rog loved the scene where a man is tickling the foot of a swordsman. Monkeys liked this temple too. On our way back to our tuk tuk, we passed a band playing. Several plastic legs were propped next to the stage & a sign informed us that they'd been land mine victims. Monk Hun had planned our day well. He left the best for last, Angkor Wat. The jewel. Surrounded by a vast moat. It is considered "heaven on earth", Mt Olympus of the Hindu faith. To me, I consider it an ultimate gem of a might, brilliant & talented ancient civilization. Over a million people lived in this, the biggest city in Asia at the time. Complete with libraries, post office, hospitals, pharmacy and schools. Angkor Wat's massive walls tell in their exquisite carvings, so many Hindu stories of gods which would fill volumes of books…but as the saying goes, "a carving is worth a thousand words." Angkor Wat is truly a magnificent site to see and let soak into your being.
And the cherry on top, was that our guide was Monk Hon. Many tourist stopped and honored him with a bow and asked to have pictures taken with him. I felt very honored, humbled and lucky to walk among these hallowed temples with him.
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