The temples of Angkor Wat

It was a bumpy bus ride on the dirt roads from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. The town was a lot smaller then I imagined, but also a lot prettier with a quiet river running along the edge. 5km outside of the city is a large expanse of 1,000 year old temples covering 400 km² known as Angkor Wat. The first night Dan and I met a British guy named Chris while eating dinner at a food stall in town. We made a plan to meet the next morning to share a tuk tuk around Angkor to save some money. We'd heard about how beautiful it is when you get there early and watch the sun rise against the temples. So we started out around 5:00am, but unfortunately the sunrise was more of an emergence of light without color. We were still happy though to start the day free of the large crowds. I have to admit I felt a bit like Indiana Jones stumbling upon a lost civilization as the three of us climbed through the stone corridors and rooms within the temples. At one point an old sun wrinkled Buddhist nun motioned for me to come with her to the alter inside. We both sat at the base of the alter then she began carefully removing various objects from her small basket. She gave me a stick of incense and instructed me to move it in a certain way while reciting a phrase. Then she lit the incense stick and I stuck it in the sand pot at the base of the Buddha statue. I thanked her, placing my palms together and nodding my head in a bow, and in return she tied a red string bracelet around my wrist symbolizing a buddhist blessing of good luck. It was one of my most special experiences in Cambodia.

Later that afternoon the three of us found spots on top of a temple and while enjoying the view I slipped into sleep and woke up 20 minutes later to find Chris and Dan had done the same. A half hour later we pulled ourselves up and back to the tuk tuk to venture off to a few more temples. We stopped for a snack at one of the roadside food stalls and I smelled something good being grilled. I saw a woman in the corner grilling meat on sticks and covering it with a sweet sauce. I got 6 small sticks for Dan and I and we each commented on how good it was, especially with the special sauce. As we were eating our last few scrumptious bites Chris was regaling us with tales of his time in China and South Korea. He told us of eating dog and its peculiar consistency. Stringy and chewy he said, very different from beef and chicken. Dan and I both looked at each other and realized that our wonderful "beef" on the sticks didn't actually resemble any meat we'd had before. Yeah, it was dog. Sorry Riley.

That evening was the big New Years eve party on "Pub Street" in Siem Riep. The three of us met up for dinner at the street stalls then walked over to the party. We found the whole street had been blocked off to traffic and the restaurants were selling beer for $1 a cup on the street. Halfway through the night all the power went off, leaving only a couple of glowing neon signs. The restaurant owners were unfazed though and within minutes candles filled the tables, bars, and even bathrooms and the party continued. When the power returned a few minutes before midnight the street assumed more of a Mardi Gras feel then Cambodian. It was definitely my most memorable New Year!


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