Getting closer to Buddha

Once again slept rather poorly as the room now was too cool ha ha - the fantastic air conditioner blew right onto Tony's newly balded head.  I'm sure that at some stage during these 4 weeks we will get the room climate just right.

For our first two days here in Siem Reap I had organised a tour guide to take us around Angkor Wat and the surrounding areas.  I kinda just stumbled upon some recommendations about him on Tripadvisor.  His name is Kim San and he is a native to these parts.  During our tour when we remarked about the bullet holes in the sides of the temple walls, he casually remarked that as a child he suffered a bullet wound to his knee while out riding his bike.  A stray bullet.  On returning to the hotel this afternoon he told us that both his Dad and his Granddad were killed in 1977 in the killing field that was here in Siem Reap.

We started off to Angkor Wat at 8 30 this morning.  And damn it was hot.  We struck the double whammy today of hot sun and humidity.  Our hotel is actually on the road that goes straight to the complex so it was only a 5 minute trip.  We purchased our 3 day passes for $40 US - its like an ID badge complete with photo.  Oh yes the main currency here is USD.  You even get change in US dollars - unless the change is under a dollar and then they give you local currency.

Angkor Wat itself is a) huge and b) totally breathtaking.  It dates back to the early 12th century and has been added to, parts of it broken off in civil wars, rebuilt, damaged by gunfire and yet it still remains solid.  Tony took some amazing photos so Ill chat a bit and then show you just a glimpse.
 
We walked across the bridge and into the main area. The temple grounds is about 1 km square but we only saw a little bit of it.  The artwork on the walls and statues have both Buddhist and Hindu deities.  In a couple of areas he explained the stories that they depicted and it was incredible.

After about an hour we all rested at what was a very spiritual place.

My poor mum had been feeling poorly all morning and the added heat didn't help.  We were sitting on the edge of what used to be a pool of water when she suddenly went white as a ghost and passed out.  Our wonderful tour guide grabbed her first and stopped her from falling face first onto the concrete.  My dad moved quicker than Ive ever seen.  You see he thought she was going to vomit and didn't want to get it on his pants!.  Later when mum had come to enough to figure out what was going on she said she thought she was dreaming.  I think maybe it was one of the ancient spirits trying to contact her...

After that excitement we went on to the Angkor Artisans workshop.  This is a place for the disabled and the very poor to get training in arts and crafts.

They also train people here to do the repair work on the temples.  They learn their crafts over about a year, and then the best get the honour of being able to work at the temples.  At this workshop they get food, lodging and a minimal amount of pay.  They also get the honour of contributing to their community.  Such a shame that the Aust Gov couldn't do similar for those willing to take their regular gov paycheck to do nothing.

Our day had been planned with the weather in mind so next stop was lunch and a rest break at the hotel.  Our guide was ready and waiting again for us at 3pm to start off again.  This time was Angkor Thom.  This place was just down the road from Angkor Wat, and was for some time the main city here in Cambodia.  The Kings and over 1 million people lived here from the 12th century onwards.  They all left when Phnom Penh was born.  The largest temple area inside the compound was called Bayon and the 52 parapets all have faces of the king on them.  Obviously it is similar looking to Angkor Wat and is equally as astounding.  Tony, Nate and I climbed up to the higher level and it was well worth it.