where cider meets condensed milk: Ankor What? No, what's on second!

where cider meets condensed milk

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Ankor What? No, what's on second!

Most Japanese people that I know who have visited Cambodia flew into Siem Reap, spent 3 or 4 days touring Ankor Wat and the surrounding temples, and left. This sounds ridiculous, until you actually see Ankor Wat and realize how gigantic and overwhelming it is, and how many days you need to get the full experience. Granted, you'd be missing out on most of the country to do just this, but seeing this blew my mind and I can't wait to go back again and spend more time touring the whole area. We only had one day, so we spent a full morning at Ankor Wat (which is one main temple, but all the others in the area are grouped under the umbrella name), and the afternoon at Bayon and Ta Prohm temples. We wore deathly bright yellow T-shirts, very reminiscent of the neon orange ones from Tokyo orientation, except these were not to prevent idiot JETs from getting lost in Narita airport, but rather to prevent idiot JETs from getting lost in Cambodia. Like faux-animal-print, acid wash, slap bracelets, and so many other milestones of our generation's regrettable fashion history, neon may have died a prolonged and painful death, but it does still manage to serve its purpose. Thank god Daniela didn't ask us to wear leopard-print.

This is the highest tower at Ankor Wat, which involves walking all through several levels and stages of the temple before a steep climb up worn steps to reach this top courtyard. The monks consider the journey an analogy for living a good life and seeking enlightenment. It is a long and arduous journey up, requiring time and concentration, but takes no effort to fall. To amend dear Marcus Whitman's famous words for the Ankor Wat life experience: "My plans require time and distance... and steps... and giant Buddha heads... and blazing hot sunshine... and ladylady postcardsonedollar cheapcheap ifyoubuyyoubuyfrommeokay... and malaria." (Really, I don't think that will fit nicely on a statue placard, but they also ignored the "... and then the entire settlement was massacred..." notion when they gave Whitman College the unfortunate Missionaries mascot.)

The PEPY Nearly Dozen (Heads) and Nearly 2 Dozen (Arms)! We are standing on the edge of an empty rainwater-collection pen, with an elaborate drain system that used to take water all throughout the vast complex.

Bayon Temple: full of ominous faces carved into rock towers, and collapsed tunnels and gates.

We went with all the 6th grade students from the PEPY Ride School, and they were beyond excited. For most of them, this was the only time they had ever left their village (2 hours away), and probably they were the only ones in their family to see Ankor Wat. Admission is free for Cambodian nationals, but the expense/inconvenience of transport and the abject poverty in many communities means most have never visited the most amazing man-made structures I've seen yet. (How quickly the Wat trumped the Wall in my mind. Wall, you were really, really, really, really... great. But something greater came along. Sorry.) Being with the kids was loads of fun, considering we were able to share the excitement of something so exciting and new with residents, and it also diffused and confused our walking-ATM status to many around us. Our tour guide said that the beggar children around the temples were really baffled by the presence of the PEPY students, since they had a tour guide, were treated like tourists, ate at the restaurant with us, and hopped onto the air-con minibus with us to get to the different temples, yet probably most of the PEPY kids were poorer than those living in Siem Reap and making money at the temples.

When Adametal and I were in China last month, Chinese tourists outnumbered foreign tourists 100 to 1, and hawkers are just as (if not more) likely to get a sale from an out-of-towner as from an out-of-country-person. Thus, people selling things there will treat you as an anomaly or nuisance or someone to blatantly manipulate, rather than their sole chance at earning an income. Very few Cambodians have the means to be tourists in the same sense as we were, so foreigners are the sole target for souvenirs around the entrances to each temple. It is not permitted to sell things on the grounds of the wat, so the children pestering you with crafts and postcards inside would only leave you alone if someone more gullible wandered into their line of sight, or if they spotted police and had to dash into the woods. There were several wedding party groups having their photographs taken at Ankor Wat, and were small clusters of sightseeing Cambodians, but otherwise it was mostly foreigners.

One of the older girls from the PEPY Ride school and her little sister. This was primary school, but the kids ranged in age from 12-18, so this was the final year for the older ones lucky enough to make it this far without already dropping out to earn money for their family.

Ta Prohm was all overgrown and falling apart, as a temple should be after a thousand years, and it's where Tomb Raider was filmed. Didn't see Angelina Jolie, but now that Cambodia has banned adoptions to the US, she has to look elsewhere for children to steal. Her new Pitt baby will nearly complete her United Colors of Bennetton clan...

posted by Raychaa @ 7:07 PM

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