My last days in Siem Reap

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Signing back in. Last evening in Siem Reap. Its been a good visit. Visit now and visit in the low season because in 5 or 10 years this place is going to be a zoo. Its low season now here but its still full of tourists from all over the world. Don't plan on visiting the temples here and getting lots of quiet contemplation time.

Saturday I started the day off by meeting the brothers for the Field Ministry. It was great. Unlike in the states though they start at 8 am and when its 8 they start the meeting. The meeting takes about 10 min and then car arrangements are done and off they go. If your 15 min late you are going alone because by then here they are all gone. In the states we start at 9 and so many people are late that sometimes we dont get going till 9:45. It did not dawn on me till that morning that there are no car groups. Everyone is on scooters. So everyone is broken up in 2's and take off on their motor bikes. It makes me really appreciate more the oppurtunity we have to visit with one another back in the states when we are able to get 4, 5 even 6 people into a car.

The branch office in Japan is taking care of the work here and it has been decided that the territory for now is to be in close to town. The idea is that they work all the territory close to the kingdom hall and as more people come into the organization and are available to help they will expand the distance out they will go. It makes a lot of sense. I was assigned to assist a Japanese brother who speaks really good English. His name is Kieko. It was great going out into the territory and meeting the Cambodians. They all were very welcoming and every door averaged about 20 to 30 min. So we did not talk to alot of people but each door you are really talking to them.

Kieko had a a return visit with a man who is suposidly the first guide here in Siem Reap for the temples. He was very interesting. He speaks 5 languages and is self taught. His English was very good. One thing he had that was interesting though was a small book that he has been keeping track of the amount of visitors here for the last 25 years. He went upstairs and got it. He started the entries in 1985 I think. At that time he wrote down 436 people had come to tour the temples. Last year in 2008 he had wrote down 1.3 million. You could see every year the numbers going up. So like I said visit now because if the trend continues this place will be a zoo without the infrastructure to handle the people in another 5 or 10 years.

Before dinner however, I spent Saturday afternoon and evening at the park. I explored Tha Phrom and went to do Sunset at Angkor Wat.

I fell in love with Tha Phrom. Its the temple in the Tomb Raider movies and for good reason. Its a large temple complex but the jungle encroaching into the temple is such an amazing combination. Its wild to see nature and an ancient wonder battleing it out with each other. These huge trees are growing everywhere and their roots are all intertwined into the rock of the temple. Also the trees create a cover over everything that just makes the light in the temple so surreal. Its such a magical place. Again, it would have been great to have had some solitude there but that is never happening here again. The other thing I was suprised about is that there are people begging even in the temples. So you get no break at from the constant asking for money that occurs here. Whats hard is that you try to be nice and polite and say no but they just keep asking for you to buy something and following you. I wish I could tell them that because they keep asking me and following me I am even more determined not to buy from them. I don't think they realize that they have the opposite effect on people in regards to sales then they think.

Next I attempted to catch the sunset at Angkor Wat. I was there for the sunset but because there was so much clouds in the sky the sun could not really shine through. There had to be thousands of people within the complex though all with the same idea.

Sunday I attended the public talk and WT study. Again, I could not understand anything but it was nice to just be there with everyone and visit before and after. Sunday evening I met with Kieko and 2 other brothers for dinner. We went to some local Indian Restaurant off the Pub Street crawl and it was really good. We ordered everything on the menu I think and had a great time all talking to each other.

Monday I got up and did the sunrise at Angkor Wat. It was very dark and making my way into the temple in pitch darkness was an experience. I wish I had not left my headlamp back in my room but working my way through some of the hallways to get into the complex in darkness is a pretty good memory. I actually got there pretty early and in the entire place saw only about 10 more people. But as time counted off hundreds and hundreds of people all showed up. Sunrise was pretty good actually. It was great to see the shape of the temple in the foreground as the sun comes up behind it. The temple was situated to face west so the sun comes up right behind it. We had a brief moment of some red and orange color then it was done. I was glad I did it though. I must have spent almost 2 hours walking around Angkor Wat after that. Parts of it are under reconstruction but what really stood out for me was the size of the place. Its so big. Its one of those things you have to see to believe. I love what the discoverer of Angkor Wat said when he first saw the place. Hacking his way through the jungle in Cambodia, Henri Mouhot, a 19th century French explorer, reached a broad moat surrounding a temple. It was Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument on earth. "Erected by some ancient Michelangelo," he wrote, "it is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome."

I have to agree with that statement. I have been to Rome and while I was impressed by what I saw there this definitly dwarfs it. Like I also said in the previous blog, so much of the temple is covered in ornate carvings that defy description. At Angkor Wat I was amazed as one section of the temple has its 4 sides completly carved and each side is depicting a story of some sort. These walls are more than a football field long though. The bas reliefs are so long yet so detailed. I spent alot of time just marveling at those carvings.

I then went and explored Bayon another major temple complex. Each temple is different and this one is no exception. It too is one of the larger complexes but is more run down than some others and it did not have near the amount of carvings that some of the other temples had. It was near Bayon that I finally saw some elephants. They have elephant rides near Bayon and it was really cool to see people riding by on these large mammals in the setting of these temples and the jungles around us. One of the highlights for me was stopping and feeding the monkeys. Near Bayon in one section is a very large troop of monkeys. They were having a blast. It was a hot afternoon but the rains from last week had left giant water puddles everywhere. Most of the young monkeys were playing and swimming in the water. It was a hoot to watch them jump from some pretty high up from the trees straight into the water. You could tell they were having a blast.

Some locals had some food you could buy to feed the monkeys. I bought a bunch of food and like a rookie watched as several monkeys raced towards me and pretty much steal most of it right out of my hands. I was a bit nervous but as I calmed down around them and kept a firm grip on the rest of the food I was able to feed them for awhile. I had so much fun with them that I actually just went back today and fed them again for about an hour. Its such an amazing experience to have them climb up your body and sit on your head and shoulders while you feed them. Not once in the 2 times I went did they ever try to bite or get aggressive with me. They always tried to steal something and for about 20 minutes I had one steal my river rafting hat. The little monster had it about 10 feet up off the ground in a branch and would not let go of it. I was beginning to think after about 20 minutes of trying to entice him with a bannanna that I may have lost my hat for good but out of the blue he just dropped it and took off. I was so glad to have my hat back. It was my first time even touching a monkey much less holding and feeding one. If you love animals then definitely plan on doing that as part of your trip.

To end the day I did another toursit thing and that was to climb a large hill which at the top has another temple that is about 5 stories tall. You climb to the top of that temple and you get a 360 degree view of the whole area, including Angkor Wat. Everyone likes to climb up here to watch the sunset. The sunset again was sort of a bust but the view is worth the climb and the fact that its much cooler near sunset then during the day makes it a good plan no matter what the weather.

I met the brothers and sisters again today, Tuesday and went out in service again. We spent 2 hours in door to door and only talked to 3 people. Each person averaged about 40 mins per door. Its so nice to actually spend time with people who are anxious to really about everything as they are getting no answers or real hope from their current religion.

Going to head to town for dinner again tonight. I had Mexican food last night. It was average compared to what we get in Colorado but was a nice change from Asian Food. You have to love the .50 cent beers though. Not sure what to get tonight but its nice to get a table on the street and just people watch. I will do it again. I also went to an Aspara dance. It was really good. The temples are covered with the carvings of thousands of Aspara dancers who would dance for the kings. The dance is very deliberate and slow and the focus is on the movement of the hands and wrist. I read that to be a really good Aspara dancer you have to start at about 12 years of age when the bones in your wrist are still more pliable. There are apparantly thousands of small hand gestures and each movement means something in the dance. I heard it can take on average of 18 years of practice to become profecient in it. They also demonstrated strentgh and balance by doing alot of the dance on one leg and moving up and down with the one leg. Was amazing to see the gracefullness and the control the dancers had over their hands. They could put their hands into positions that seemed unnatural. I was glad I saw it.

Tommorrow I fly to Luang Probang in Laos. I am staying there for 3 nights and I will let you know how that goes. Not sure what to expect but will fill you in.

Signing off for now

Dave

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Photos

Out with friends
Keigo, Tom and Ryota. All from Japan and Reg Pioneers

Comments

[Maureen]

Wow, Dave!! I have loved reading your blog. I just got your link from Scott and had time to sit and read it all at once. I'm glad I got to do it that way, or else I would be up at the crack of dawn to see if you had posted another so I wouldn't be left hanging! What an amazing trip! I can't wait to sit down with you and hear more when you get back. Take care and be safe, Maureen

[Janice]

My favorite so far.
This entry has it all I think. The friends, the temples with the intricate carvings, the trees, the animals, the views, just sounds so neat. I really liked the way they have field service. Just being able to talk to people and have them take the time to listen to what you have to say. They probably enjoyed having this giant white American come along for the ride. They will talk about your visit for awhile, I think. The mnkeys sound fun, too theivery and all.