Angkor Wat is the ancient temple complex that stands at the heart of Cambodian history, culture and religion. It lived up to - and exceeded - our expectations.
The temples are spectacular; they take your breath away when you walk across the causeway into the main complex. It's hard to imagine that they were built in the 12th century when none of our technology existed. The carved panels tell the story of Cambodia's history. The steps are so steep that you take your life in your hands when you climb them; even the oldies managed though some did come down backwards! The palm trees are symbolic of the country as well and themselves are quite outstanding.
Angkor Wat exists to tell the people of Cambodia about Buddhism, so there are statues of the Buddha all over the site, with offerings of food and incense in front of them. The monks in their saffron robes are extremely colourful, though we did hear one speaking London English - a tourist monk! Not to be confused, we also saw some monkeys at the side of the road.
We visited Ta Prohm, the temple which the jungle has reclaimed. The roots of the spong trees have grown through the temples and brought them down so that they are now heaps of rubble. The government is beginning to repair some of them with German and Indian money. The women all posed on the appropriate place, pretending to be Lara Croft (see Tomb Raider!)
Lunch on a mat - we ate lunch at the Red Restaurant, sitting on a mat on the floor. We shared chicken soup which tasted of aniseed and coriander, lok lak with beef, chicken with vegetables, chips and a fried egg! Some of us even learned to use chopsticks and swing in a hammock. There were 2 plates of lychees and Rotana nearly ate half of them on his own.
Reatray and Rotana, two of the leaders of CHO, gave up their time to come with us and they are good fun. Reatray drove the van for us and did very well, considering that we came back through a rainstorm and couldn't see much of the road in front of him. Overtaking a lorry in a tropical rainstorm is hairy! 11 of us squeezed into the van - Yvonne nearly landed on the floor, but there was no room to fall into! The road is long and straight, the countryside is flat and very green with rice fields as far as the eye can see.
Other experiences on the road:
- a lorryload of monks stopped by the police for overcrowding
- the cows that just wander onto the road without looking
- the fact that people just keep driving regardless of what's coming towards them
- the lorry overtaking the other two as we are driving towards them with a small space on the road and a ditch at the side!
