Angkor Adventure - Day 2

13th September, 2008 - A day to look forward to ... the day when we were able to witness sunrise at the famous Angkor Wat !!! Despite having to wake up at 5am, we were all in high spirit :-) Forego the guesthouse breakfast as we were too early ... but the poor waiter (who was still in slumberland !) had to climb off his couch and attend to my request for a pot of hot water. So, instead of the toasted bread, we had a steaming cup of 3-in-1 Nescafe Breakfast coffee brought from home instead. Warmed our stomachs well enough to a good start ... ^_^


We were quite taken by the beauty of Angkor Wat and as we wait for the sun to rise, we took the opportunity to amuse ourselves and got our tour guide to take various fun-loving pics like this one ^_^ A good morning warm-up session indeed !

Angkor Wat is the symbol at the very heart of the Khmer people's pride in their culture and heritage. The temple is regarded by many as the largest religious buildings in the world. "Angkor Wat" means capital or 'royal monastery city'.


Angkor Wat faces west and the entire site is encompassed by a moat. Crossing the moat by a single causeway, we came to the outer enclosure : a gallery running the entire length of the western boundary and pierced by 5 entrances. Once through the central entrance, the approach to Angkor Wat opens in all its glory.

There were many bas reliefs depicting scenes from the Ramayana, principally the battle of Lanka, gods and demons in conflict, Krishna's defeat of the demon Bana, Vishnu conquering demons, the incomparable Churning of the Ocean of Milk, the battle of Kurukshetra, etc ...

Here, another sweet Cambodian girl approached me and immediately, I took out my last few pieces of Toblerone. She's real shy but very sweet nonetheless right? Perhaps it's my liking of little girls that got me mesmerised by their natural and innocent beauty ... ^_^

This one here looks like a scene on poster/postcard. Wow ! I was indeed mesmerized by its splendid grandeur and wonder how all these took place way back thousands of years ago ! No wonder it's so famous !

I was telling myself ... hmm ... must bring my kids here when they are big and strong enough to scale the steep climbs ! When that time come, we'll surely take the balloon ride to witness sunrise and sunset. For now, can only imagine the amazing views of the temples and landscape !


After a short walk through the jungle, we arrived at Baksei Cham Krong, a queer little temple with very steep stairways leading to the top.

This is by far the most steep climb. When asked, our tour guide explained that the steps are deliberately built so narrow and steep as devotees show their sincerity and determination in they offerings, prayers and in paying respect to their gods.

The Linga Cult - Jayavarman II established a linga-worshipping cult. Lingas are a male fertility totem; one of the many incarnations of the Hindu god Shiva. The literal representation of the totem was a stone phallus (linga) that usually rested on a pedestal (uma) representing the female sexual organs. Water poured over the linga drained from the uma and became blesssed. At the "Rivers of 1000 Lingas' in the Kulen Hills, these phallic symbols were used to bless the waters flowing out of the highlands and into the rich, agricultural land below.

Images of these Cambodians with their legs amputated still linger in my thoughts. Playing Khmer music and selling their music on CDs is their way of making ends meet....

Three decades of war in Cambodia have left scars in many forms throughout the country. Unfortunately, one of the most lasting legacies of the conflicts continues to claim new victims daily. Land mines, laid by the Khmer Rouge, the Heng Samrin and Hun Sen regimes, the Vietnamese, the KPNLF, and the Sihanoukists litter the countryside. In most cases, even the soldiers who planted the mines did not record where they were placed. Now, Cambodia has the one of the highest rates of physical disability of any country in the world. While census data for Cambodia is sketchy, it is generally accepted that more than 40,000 Cambodians have suffered amputations as a result of mine injuries since 1979. That represents an average of nearly forty victims a week for a period of twenty years !!!! Ahhhhhhh .... why does this kind of brutal acts happen? Sigh .... Aren't we all blessed that these miseries don't happen in Malaysia?

Our last temple visit for the day : An island temple, the Prasat Neak Pean is believed to celebrate Buddha's achievement of Nirvana. Sitting pretty in the middle of the Jayatataka reservoir (Northern Baray) it acted as a sacred shrine where pilgrims came to swim in the surrounding waters. The four fountains take four forms: elephant, human, lion and horse sprouted holy water that could cure the pilgrims of their ailments.

On our way back, we stopped by one very small, new shopping complex and tasted its yoghurt ice-cream. Yummy !!! A refreshing taste to end our hot and sweaty journey ! Nice ... very nice indeed ^_^