As described earlier, we saw the sunrise at the temple and then wandered around the outer complex before leaving for other temples. When we left, there were TONS of tourists, to the point that I was incredibly thankful that we took the side route out.
We had breakfast the first day at a place just outside the temple (Angkor Wat) it seemed, and while I debated on ordering food or not, I caved and got a glorious pancake with bananas and honey. The pancake was sweet tasting, and reminded me of corn bread honestly. It was very very good. I also got a wonderful iced coffee that just made my day. The coffee here tastes different as well, but in no way bad.
This was my first encounter with their sweet milk, which was interesting. Its a lot thicker than milk or creamer, and frankly i'm not sure what is in it, but it is very good, and I couldn't imagine putting sugar in on top of all that.
When we returned to Angkor Wat, it was more or less 'émpty' as far as the temple goes. The giant mass of tourists were all having lunch and a break, as most guide books suggest giving tourists a time to rest around then. Sothik took advantage of that and I was thankful he did. We entered from a side gate again, taking photos of some of the far lying buildings before walking around. We came up a side road that we had passed earlier that day with the monkeys, and I stopped and filmed/watched some of them for a while before we wandered on.
Sothik told me a funny story about how when he was younger, he used to be afraid of the monkeys. Well one time, he was standing with a friend watching them in a tree when one of them suddenly jumped down from the tree, straight at him, so he freaked, covered his face, and just punched out, completely cold cocking the monkey in the face, lol. He didn't mean to, but it was a KO, flawless victory, and the monkey ran off to harass someone else. That's one way to over come your fear. We joked about a monkey that was all sprawled out in the middle of the road, saying that was the one from before and it had simply never recovered.
We came upon Angkor Wat from the back side, taking photos and basically ruling over the kingdom as there wasn't another tourist in site.
Entering from the back, he showed me the carvings and told me the stories behind each one, several themes that I would see in many of the temples later through my visit. He took me through passages that were off the 'way of visit' to get to specific areas, and with his eye for photography, showed me some great places for shots, all while telling me the history of the temple.
In some cases, we walked along the outer ledges of the temple to get to spots, or sometimes just shade, whatever held the highest value at the moment.We talked a little about his history, and it caught me off guard a little bit. When he was younger, he studied with the monks of Angkor Wat for a few years, (which is also where he learned English), because of the war in Cambodia. In the war, his mother had already lost 11 children, and she was worried if he went into town that they would be split up and lost from each other, and she didn't want that to happen again. So he lived with the monks for a while, learning English and other things, before leaving that life style. He practiced his English in hotels for a few years, and then doing tours. Apparently he met Angelina Jolie when she was filming out here, serving her food and water at her hotel. What caught me off guard though was that people living now were still directly effected by the war. I had read briefly about it while doing some research on Cambodia, but I guess I never thought that some people today were people who had lived through that time period. Sothik isn't that much older than me either, he's only ...what? 31? 32? We also passed musicians playing outside the temple who were victims of land mines, all missing arms, or legs, or blinded. It was a shocking reminder how different our lives can be.
It isn't all bad memories though, of course. When asked, Sothik told me his favorite temple was the Angkor Wat, as he grew up with it always in view, even at his mothers house as a child. They would go out, pick wild mushrooms, fruits, and go swimming in the moat, all with the temple in the background. That sounds pretty lovely to me, and I was glad he had moments like those as well. He seems a really kind, fun loving individual, and I keep finding myself happy that he's the guide I ended up with.
He was very open about all of this, and at first I wondered if I should include it or not, but I decided to in the end because Cambodia is not just about the temples. Cambodia is its people, and their history. Should I hear that he does not wish for this to be told, I will gladly remove it from my post.
The Angkor Wat temple turned out to be everything I dreamed of and more. It was amazing seeing the sun rise, how the sky went from speckled with stars to the slow shift of blue into oranges and pinks. It was incredible to look at the size and complexity of the building and think about the fact that we're not building anything of this grandeur in today's day and age, with all of our machines and know how. The carvings were all intricate, beautiful artistry, all bold and yet delicate at the same time.
The women carved into the temple were individuals, each with different outfits, poses, and hair styles.
We even found "the most beautiful woman" amongst them, her mouth actually open and exposing teeth.
I loved it. I loved it all, and I'm so happy I decided to come here.
Lunch was at another stop along the road, though this place was the 'fanciest' we've been to so far. I got chicken stir fry with peppers and greens, with rice and egg on the side. Another iced coffee, helloooo, all for about six dollars. With both breakfast and lunch, I ate by myself, as Sothik and Mr. Driver ate either together or with other guides. It was both lonely and relaxing at the same time. Lonely not because I dislike eating alone, but mainly because it would have been fun to talk to someone about the things I'd seen, but relaxing because I honestly don't know that I could have carried a conversation with anyone I didn't know well at that point, so it was nice to not have to worry about small talk and to just be able to relax. I watched some of the other tourist, as well as this giant skink that was parading back and forth at the entrance way.
Over all, this temple lived up to everything I expected and more, and I know I wouldn't of had as good a visit if it weren't for Sothik and his knowledge of the temple/times to visit.
All other photos shall be posted on Facebook.
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