Thoughts on the temples

Just a quick update on my experience in Seam Reap visiting the temples surrounding Angkor Wat. When I first was told by others to visit Angkor Wat I thought it was a single temple but once I got there I found that it was a whole complex of temples, palaces, grave and other remnants of the ancient Khmer Empire. The most intriguing part of the temples was the mixture of Hindu and Buddhist statues and bas reliefs. This is due to the fact that for the first half of a millennium the temples were all dedicated to Hindu gods like Vishnu and Shiva. Later, as Buddhism was introduced, the temples were dedicated to Buddha. Yet they never removed the old Hindu parts of the temples and many temples, including Angkor Wat, have both influences throughout the halls and antechambers.

All in all I found that I really loved looking at the temples that were still consumed by jungle as opposed to the fully restored temples. Angkor Thom was fascinating in this respect because you walked through massive swaths of jungle as you traveled between temples within the complex. Angkor Thom was once a vast city that dominated the region, spanning many kilometers in every direction. It was hard to imagine the reality of this massive walled city containing a bustling and lively culture so long ago. It was easy to avoid other tourists in this area as I spent time walking through paths and around fallen monuments.

My driver convinced me to got o Angkor Wat to see the sunrise, saying I would avoid the later crowds. Sadly, every driver told their customer this and I found myself facing Angkor Wat with another 1,000 people waiting for the same thing. Once I'd snapped a few pictures of the sunrise across the reflecting pool I went inside to see what all the fuss was about. The whole time I looked around I found myself asking, "Is this it?" It was impressive in it's own way but I truly felt that it wasn't as great as it had been made out to be. Later i traveled to a temple that had great elephant trees growing through rock walls and temples. The sites were breathtaking and I clicked 4 times as many pictures of this small temple as compared to Angkor Wat.

The third day we got up early again but this time drove 50 miles out of the city to an old temple called Buenge Maele (sp?). This massive temple was still completely given over to jungle. My guide and I climbed over fallen walls, under vast tree roots and through old religious buildings and libraries. It took 45 minutes to traverse and I kept thinking of Indiana Jones as I climbed up crumbling walls into dry moats and old walk ways. In that whole time I saw only one other tourist, as opposed to the mass of humanity I had left behind in the Angkor Wat area. I realized that I enjoyed experiencing these kinds of places in solitude and silence. It allowed me to stop and truly marvel at the architecture and layout of these beautiful ruins. The silence was meditative and my minds slowed down as I let me self "be" instead of "do."

Anyway, that's the short description of what I felt about the Angkor Wat area. I took over 400 pictures in 3 days and I am currently working with my family to set up a flick'r account to show my pictures. Long story short, I can't use my credit card to do anything online because I no longer have a billing address while I'm away. So, hopefully, I will have this account set up sooner rather than later but who knows what other snags I'll run into. I'm writing this in Bangkok as I'm waiting for the screening of "The Dark Knight" on IMAX. In a day I will leave on the night train for Chang Mai to sign up for 30 days of Muay Thai madness. I'm a bit nervous because my level of conditioning is way down from where it was two months ago. No doubt the first time in the ring will show me how much I've lost in terms of stamina on this trip. Oh well, that's why I'm going there for intense training. Wish me luck!

Namaste,
Adam