A visit to a village in Siem Reap

There is life outside of Angkor Wat - and a very different one at that. Side by side with the glamour of the Angkor Wat ancient structures, are villages where much is  to be desired in terms of social services.  And here is where I appreciate the work that my organization does.  Our projects are able to provide, maybe not all, but some services that are necessary for the health, growth and development of the children.

Part of the agenda of our network meeting is a one day field visit to the villages we are supporting.  We wanted to see the process by which our Cambodia office is carrying out our projects.

At the Village Center

We visited a village where we had a discussion with the village leaders and village volunteers.  They only speak Khmer language so we needed our Cambodian colleagues to translate for us. From what they shared, it is impressive to see that even if most of them did not finish or did not go to school, they are very knowledgeable of the situation in their village. I am also impressed at how they are involved with all the stages of project management.  Their participation is very important because that is their training ground so that in the future they will be able to implement their own projects for their villages.

One of the village leaders confidently discussing to foreign delegates
about their situation and the programs implemented
to address some of their problems

After the meeting, they took us to an on-going parenting session.  This project is part of the Early Childhood Care and Development Project.  They organized Parents' Group in the village and they are taught the different aspect of proper child care.  

Parents being taught about nutrition

A Cambodia collague talking about nutrition

The on-going parenting session was cooking nutritious food for the children.  They were taught about the different available vegetables and ingredients in their village- and the nutrients that they will get from them.  They were also taught some recipes of nutritious, but good-tasting dishes. The parents were actively participating and asking questions. There was also a cooking demonstration. 

The cooking demonstration

We also got to ask them some questions after their session- and they were all happy about the things that they are learning from the Parenting Group- which made them realize their roles in the development of their children.  We have noticed however that most of the participants are mothers. Our office is slowly trying to educate the fathers that they are equally responsible in child rearing.  In that village however, most of the fathers are still not that involved.  

The next project we visited was the pre-school that we, together with the villagers have set up.  We provided them with the materials and parents helped build the school.  Class has already ended when we reached the place but we were able to talk with some parents. They shared how happy they are that there is a pre-school where small children can learn and play and be prepared for primary school. The pre school also allows them to go to work because there is somebody who can take care of the children while they are earning for the family.

Inside the well ventilated pre school

Happy colleagues

Pre school playground. 

It is during times like this that I appreciate my work.  I do not have the chance to meet with people we help everyday.  However, knowing that our projects are making a difference, is enough for me to be thankful that I have the chance to be part of an organization which helps poor children live a better life.  

Ta Phrom, the Jungle Temple

Now more associated with Angelina Jolie (Lara Croft) and Tomb Raider (which was shoot there), Ta Phrom is the temple which would give visitors an out-of-this world feeling. 

Giant trees co-exist with the ancient temple of Ta Phrom. The temple and the trees merged to form one beautiful jungle temple, as if the roots are hugging the crumbling temple to keep it up. With the trees and temple as one, it is hard to imagine one without the other. It left me speechless.The temple, surrounded by a jungle, was built in honour of the King's mother- now, the 300 year old trees, a fitting tribute to her. It left me speechless.

I could not stop clicking my iphone camera.   I wish  brother and my photography friends were with me- we would hve spent the whole day shooting all the nooks and cranny of the temple. Or maybe,if my high school friends were with me, we would have spent a lot of time playing Lara Croft. :)

The "tomb raiders" taking their selfies

I wish i dressed up as Lara Croft!

Me and my travel buddies-- happily concluding our Angkor Wat adventure

Angkor Wat: The Temple of All Temples

Angkor Wat has always been on top of my bucket list (ok- i had to use this overused term). And it did not disappoint.   

Because of its name (wat), I have always thought that it is only one temple.  I was in awe when how huge the temple complex was, and its elaborate details and layout.

From outside, what visitors will see is the enclosure wall.  The complex is surrounded by a man-made lake. The lake serves as a reservoir, and  I cannot imagine how long it took for them to build this lake with the state of technology they had during their time (sometime in the 1200s). 

To get to the main entrance, we had to cross the a naga (seven headed serpent) bridge, a symbolism of crossing from the land of the mortal to the land of the gods.

Causeway leading to Angkor Wat

The wall enclosure

Up close, the Angkor wat is much more than well-preserved stone monuments. It represents an ancient civilization, with very high appreciation for arts, culture and religion The moment i touched it, I instantly regretted why I did not dream to be an archeologist. It would have been a very interesting life discovering ancient relics such as this, digging, looking for clues about how people lived, and trying to figure out what each of the objects found meant,.

The wall enclosure, upclose

We explored the wall enclosure and then entered the complex where we were greeted by another long pathway leading to the central sanctuary. 

Inside the enclosure

Part of the enclosure

The gate to the central sanctuary

To the cental sanctuary

The central sanctuary

We explored the galleries. As compared to the Bayon temple, there are much more bas reliefs carved in the galleries of Angkor Wat, which shows us the ancient Khmer way of life, and their beliefs. There are also intricate carvings which can be found in this area.

There is a corner in the galleries, facing the central sanctuary which is called Halls of Echo. Our guide told us to lean on the wall, and thump our chest lightly.  When we did so, we heard loud echo of the tap.  There is no echo produced when you stamp your feet or talk in loud voices however.  It is a sacred space for the Khmer where they come to pray when they are feeling down or when they needed help.  Thumping the chest with either close or open fist, is way of connecting the heart to their god. 

And then comes the inner or the central sanctuary, which is in the middle of a courtyard. The central sanctuary is a 3-tiered tower with steep staircases.  Three of us went up to the topmost tower where we got a very beautiful view of the courtyard, and of the Angkor Wat Archelogical park. 

The central sanctuary

View from the top

Words escape me whenever I try to describe Angkor Wat, which was made to honor their god Vishnu. Even in ruins, the Angkor Wat remains to be a very beautiful and imposing structure.  It is not only the largest temple in the world- but a very grandiose one at that. I wish there was a way to see how it looked like in its true form.

Cambodian Lunch

Exhausted, but happy, from the Angkor Thom tour, me and my travel buddies were more than ready for lunch.  The weather was too hot and humid and we badly needed to be under the shade- even for a few minutes.

Our tour guide took us to a local restaurant across the Angkor temple. She left but will be back after an hour for the afternoon tour.

We were left on our own - with the non-English speaker servers.  It was a good thing that the menu has pictures- we only needed to figure the ingredients used in those dishes.

We ended up with really good dishes, anyways. I would recommend the visitors to try the following: 

Papaya Salad

Lobster with fried rice

Pineapple fried rice

Fish soup

Fresh buko juice

The cost per person is very reasonable (around USD 10 per person), considering that it is a tourist place. 

 

Bayon: Ancient Temple in an Ancient City

Angkor used to be the capital of Cambodia, during the Khmer time from the 9th to 15th century. It is hard for me to believe that this forest, with several ruins, was where around a million people, with great culture, lived. It was said that in the 15th century the Khmer Kings abandoned Angkor. Angkor Thom lost its power and people abandoned the city for hundreds of years. (Read about the story of Angkor in bbc.com) Only the local monks and villagers know of this ancient city within the jungle until it was found in the 1860s and archaeologists came to uncover it.  And the great temple complex was revealed to the world. To date, around 2 million tourists come to see this enchanting place. 

Bayon temple ruins

Tourists..tons of them...and there's Carlos and Dracuse 

Angkor Thom was then the center of power, and is surrounded and protected by a wall. The Bayon temple, which is the temple of the King, is right in the middle of the Angkor Thom. The Bayon (or Prasat Bayon) is one of the must-visit temple ruins in Angkor Wat. Even in its current state, it is a beauty. 

The temple has galleries in the lower ground and several standing towers (it is said to have 37 remaining towers to date) . We first explored the galleries in the lower ground. Our guide showed us the different sculptures (or they refer to it as bas-reliefs) in the wall. Through the bas reliefs, we were taken back to the Khmer time.  It reveals everyday life scenes of the Khmer during the 1200s and 1300s. This includes processions, market scenes and cockfighting. The bas reliefs also show historical scenes, which are mostly about battles: marching armies, horsemen, naval battle, and war machines.  Legends and mythology are also etched in the gallery walls. We were amazed at the details. I was wondering how many years it took them to carve everything , by hand. 

The upper terrace of the temple has towers. Each of the tower has three or four gigantic stone faces.  It is said that the upper terrace has more than 200 stone faces, each is around 13 feet tall. If only for these 800+ years old stone faces, Bayon is one of the most spectacular temples I have ever seen.

Bayon is a bucket-list worthy destination.