We've been in Siem Reap for the past 2 days as our Cambodian mini-holiday, and let me tell you, it has been holy-cow-what-ridiculousness-is-this amaaaaazing.
Yesterday was our day at the Angkor complex of temples, which were built from about the 6th-13th centuries (I think) by the emperors of the Khmer empire. Our day started with a 5am tuk-tuk ride from our hotel to Angkor Wat, the most famous of the temples. Absolutely mind-blowing. I've been reading up on these temples and looking at pictures of them since we decided to go here, but absolutely nothing prepares you for the reality. Unlike anything I've ever seen. Unfortunately, I haven't uploaded pictures yet, so my description here is going to be very incomplete. Maybe we'll post some later, or you can ask your nearest SE Asia CURA member to see their pictures once we get back to the States.
Anyway, Angkor Wat at sunrise was pretty sweet. There are two ponds (they call them basins) in the grounds between the moat and the temple that catch a reflection of the temple. Very cool. On the first level inside, there is gallery after galley of bas-reliefs. These. Are. Amazing. They're about 15 feet high and so long and sooo detailed. I can't even imagine how long it must have taken to carve even one panel of one of those scenes. They're absolutely full of detail and action in a way that you'd think would make it look to busy, but instead it just looks awesome. The reliefs are mostly scenes from historical battles, or Hindu myths (Angkor Wat is dedicated to Vishnu). It was perfect being there in the early morning too, as the light was falling at a great angle for shadows, making the reliefs easier to see. You could also walk/climb around on the 2nd and3rd levels as well, which was a lot of fun, but there were no reliefs up there. So many pictures were taken. Even more than all the pictures we took with the HOPE volunteers in the Philippines, haha.
Next was Angkor Thom, a giant city-type thing. The coolest part about it was probably the entrances and the Bayon, one of the temples inside. It was a Mahayana Buddhist temple, that is absolutely full of towers with giant faces facing the cardinal directions. There's debate about whose faces these are. Some say it's the emperor at the time (Jayavarman VII) or his favorite bodhisattva (Avilokiteshvara), or a combination of the two. Anyway, all those serene Buddha-like faces staring out at you can be a little creepy, but is also awesome. Bayon was a lot of fun, not least because we kept taking pictures pretending to pick the giant faces' noses. Oh, we are so American. And so awesome.
Ta Phrom was another group favorite. This is the temple featuring in the first Tomb Raider movie. It's incredibly overgrown with trees. At most of the other temples in the complex, the conservationists have removed all the vegetation that threatens the stonework, but at this one, the trees have worked their way into the building so much that they're actually supporting it now and can't be removed. Which is too bad for the building, but great for us, since it looks amazing.
After lunch, we went and checked out the Roluos group, which are a bit older than the ones we were looking at in the morning. These were not nearly as elaborate as Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, but they were very cool still in their own way. Instead of the stonework of the others, these were built of brick and sandstone, and the red/gray combination was very cool looking.
Anyway, this post is ridiculously long, and I need to go pack for Ho Chi Minh City anyway. Very excited to get back to work, though I'm kind of sad that we're already on the last leg of our trip. It's going very quickly. Ah well. It's going to be great getting back to being useful for a week working with SOMEDCO, and then taking our lst little vacation in Hanoi. Hope you're all having as much fun as we are, wherever you are right now! If you're in Omaha and see Dr. Gossman in the near future, give him a high-five from us! Today is the last day of his trip, as he isn't going on to Vietnam with us, and we're all definitely going to miss having him around. He's been absolutely vital to our trip's success, with his seemingly bottomless well of medical knowledge. Also, who will make fun of Hank and Paul now? We're all going to have to step up our game...
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