The Glorious Angkor Wat

Cambodia is an amazing country. It's one of my favorite developing countries. I loved every minute of it.

In terms of level of cleanliness, facilities, and general infrastructure, it reminded me of Nepal. The people are warm and friendly, most out to make money off the tourists, but also willing to help you in any way they can. The folks I talked with spoke both English and/or French in addition to their native Khmer. Most of them saw being fluent in English as their ticket out of the middle-class and into the Lexus-driving-business-running-upper-class.

Although my official first step in Cambodia was on February 4 for my flight to Kuala Lumpur, I didn't really see too much of the country at that point. I came back to Cambodia - flew into Siem Reap - on February 19. The line for immigration was horrid. It took over an hour to process the 120 people on my flight. But I made it through and got myself a driver to the city for $1. Moto drivers are big in Cambodia. It's the budget way to get around any city. The customary procedure is to schedule your visit to Angkor Wat with the man who provides you transportation to your accomodation. The drivers in Siem Reap have to buy a permit from the government and present their license at the gates to the architectural phenomenon. My driver and I decided that I should see Angkor Wat at sunrise, so he would pick me up at 5am the following day.

After a long nap and an easy walk around the city streets, I made my way back to my guesthouse. I was lounging around, talking to foreigners and locals when I met Thy. He's Khmer, from Phnom Penh and works as a driver while studying English at the Australian Center for Education (ACE). Thy and I had a long conversation about life in Cambodia and life in the US. We even spent about 2 hours working on his English homework. He told me that he would meet me after I came back from Angkor Wat and take me to some local places to see what Khmers really live like in Siem Reap.

Angkor Wat at 5am was mayhem. There were about 2,000 people with me for sunrise. You arrive in complete darkness. The guides shine weak flashlights along the bridge you must cross to get the main compound. Your body feels the stored heat in the murky moat water as you make your way. Once across, you enter the grounds through the small opening in the massive wall protecting the complex. There before you is Angkor Wat, the largest temple in this some 60 acres of religious sites built during the Angkor era. When you emerge from the gate in the wall, there is about 4 acres of land between you and the entrance to the temple. Scattered on both sides are much smaller altars and temples where the early birds have perched themselves and their camera tripods to get the picture of a lifetime - sunrise behind Angkor Wat.

At first, I joined them. I was sitting just to the left of the temple on the far side of a small lake with about 300 people drinking coffee and eating Khmer-French pastries sold for $3 a pop. But as the sun began to rise and dawn provided enough light to see the inconsistencies in the rock paths, I decided to ditch the crowds and explore the temple on my own. Knowing that any picture I could take would never be as good as a postcard's, I was one of the first 10 people inside the temple that day. It was quiet. No sounds of tourists snapping photos, or arguing with each other over who would take the photo and who would stand next to one of the millions (maybe even billions) of carvings of Buddha.

There are 7 levels. Social hierarchy determined the levels to which an individual was permitted to enter. The top level was admitted only high priests and kings. As I wandered through the narrow hallways and paths around Angkor Wat, I came across several Khmer Buddhist priests preparing their offering for the day at different worship sites. They are incredibly appreciative of those who bow in reverence. By watching others, I learned that Buddhist bow three times in quick succession towards the statue before lighting a stick of incense or leaving a monetary offering.

I wasn't alone for long. About 20 minutes into my experience, the masses started crowding in and I knew it was my que to move on to another temple. In total, I visited 6 temples in the area in about 8 hours. I was back home and asleep at 1pm. Next time, I will get a multi-day pass and go to some of the more remote temples, but for my first trip, an on my own, this was suffice.