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Published: February 17th 2014
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We saved the best for last, and coincidentally it fell on Valentine’s Day to watch sunrise over Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is the heart and soul of Cambodia, and one of the most impressive structures that is known to man. It is the perfect fusion of creative ambition and spiritual devotion. It has never been abandoned and has been used as a religious temple continuously since it’s creation.
Along with hordes of perhaps a few thousand tourists, we walked into Angkor Wat in the darkness, across the great causeway spanning two wats, or moats, guarded by large stone Nagas, the 7 headed serpent. Instead of standing with the crowds overlooking the pools in front of the temple to watch the sun rise(which was unimpressive due to it being overcast), we opted to walk through the building in semi-darkness, practically having it to ourselves. Bats squeaked in the long and dark hallways, and monks walked to their posts to care take the numerous Buddha’s found throughout.
We left Angkor Wat shortly after sunrise to the Angkor Thom complex which is spread out over 10km. Inside Angkor Thom is Bayon with its iconic 216 distinct and unique faces of Avalokiteshavara. Along
the first level of the temple contains 1.2 km of bas-reliefs with over 11,000 figures. The reliefs tell stories of battles and everyday life. One could spend just a day here examining the carvings that are so detailed and life like they bring history alive.
We walked past Baphoun and over the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrance of the Leper King to finish up our circuit. We had breakfast at one of the stalls and then met with Alex who drove us to Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm is made famous for the strangler fig tree that was in the movie Tomb Raider, and as a consequence it is one of the more busy temples. It is largely left wild and unrestored like Beng Melea, however because of the sheer numbers of tourists they have built wood boardwalks in many places.
In the evening we attended a free traditional dance program at the Acodo Orphange. Many of the 22 children who live at the orphanage perform the dance. It was adorable to see the children whose ages spanned perhaps 3-15 perform in something almost like a school play, sometimes awkward and off cue but completely heartwarming. The
children here were mostly street children found either abused, alone, or neglected. Volunteers from all over the world come to work at the orphanage and it is run completely on donations.
We finished Valentine’s Day with another couples massage, this time just a foot and leg massage ($4). Our masseurs were teenage boys which was a bit weird, but we were in a busy tourist place in public. My masseur started laughing and asked if Dennis was my husband. I said yes and he said “be careful and watch your husband, he gay” as he pointed towards Dennis’s masseur. The guy he pointed at looked down sheepishly but did not deny the accusation. It wasn’t until the end that Dennis got a creepy very high upper thigh massage that interestingly I did not get even though our massages were identical . Homosexuality and transgenderism is quite common and widely accepted in the major cities in Cambodia and throughout Thailand and those who cross-dress are called “ladyboys.”
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