Siem Reap, Cambodia 3-19-10

A person, or rather a family of four, may set out bright and early to go look at temples at many places on the globe. Nothing compares to this place. Temples on steroids. This is what Angkor Wat has for you. The horribly dry lands that surround the temples make you kind of happy really. If there had been rain here in the past few years, there probably would have been snakes in every tiny crevice of every temple we climbed..YIKES! That goodness for a good old drought, or at least the dry season! The photos that you will see will not give the temples their due. They are old and beautiful. Covered in mold, falling apart and some are in a state of almost Jurassic Park! They have been taken over by the jungles around them and lost forever...until someone discovered them and unveiled their beauty. Shocking is a word. Really crazy shocking that over 800 years ago, in a deep jungle in Cambodia that birds could have rested on top of the wall and just because of their droppings, new trees emerged from the soil. Those trees are now towering over the temple and engulfing it. The roots have busted through floors, walls and ceilings. It is certainly something you won't see anywhere else in the world. Angkor Wat was simply pristine. The 5 towers graced the skyline like skyscrapers of the 10th century. Just magnificent. It is the largest temple in the world. Walking the grounds we can attest that it is.
You will see one photo of a lady holding a very sweet baby boy. I named him Joseph. He was sleeping on a stone wall while his mom and grandmother were collecting plastic bottles. We walked over to see the sweet baby sleeping and he rolled to the edge and was rolling off the edge. I lunged forward and caught him before he could roll to the stone ground below. His grandmother never even noticed it happened until Hank, or friend kind of screamed out and she turned around. He woke up happy and hungry. Sad. Today is St. Joseph's day. He will always be Joseph to us. We would have liked to have brought him home with us! A vendor at our hotel was selling goods made of silver that her dad makes. One of Nicky's jobs this trip is to ask people in all the countries we are visiting what the biggest problem their country is facing and what is their government doing about solving it. The gal tonight said the biggest problem in Cambodia is orphans. Children with no parents, trying to get an education but really can't and where do they go besides the streets to beg? We saw many small children selling small bracelets etc...25 bracelets for $2.00. I wondered where their moms were. They may not have had any.
This country lost 3 million people between 1974 and 1979. People were taken from their homes and murdered. Anyone thought to be educated or a threat was killed. This country is still recovering from that horrific part of their history. Rent The Killing Fields. Our guide lost his oldest brother, an uncle and a cousin during that massacre. He said every family there was affected. If there had not been some very brave and horribly thin people that ran from the fields to the border of Thailand, who knows when it would have ended. A true nightmare.
Today Cambodia is a Monarchy. They have a king. Let's hope he can find homes for all these beautiful orphans. Enjoy our day. We did. Imagine walking through an oven on 400 degrees while you look at the photos!



































We arrived here last last night, pretty tired. Our flight from Saigon wasn't until 7:30p.m. but we left the ship at 3:30p.m. That was a long time to wait in the airport. Great thing about Southeast Asia is that they have massage available most everywhere you turn, even in the airport. We all got 45 minute foot and head massages. $26.00. Wonderful way to pass the time.
By the time we arrived at the hotel we were pooped. We ate dinner with one eye open and then headed off to bed. Hank and Sondra Davis ordered a birthday cake for me that was some type of green cheesecake like cake and I blew out candles and we were off to bed.
When we were in Agra 3 years ago, they told us we needed to see The Taj both in the early morning light and at sunset. We opted to pass on the $:30a.m. call for that and waited for the 8:00a.m. all day temples tour and it was until 5:00p.m. One of the most tiring and fulfilling days we have ever had.
They have tigers, cobras, bears, golden cats...never saw any of them! Only saw a few lizards and some monkeys.
More later...