Cambodia: Legends of the Hidden Temple
สวัสดี, Cambodia.
Our Cambodian experience was mainly a 2-day tour of Angkor Wat National Park — the UNESCO World Heritage Site housing 100+ temples and structures built beginning in the 10th century, and the famous Angkor Wat.
During our 2 days we visited 12 temples (more than we’ve been to since high school, sorry parents!) We took a guided tour with the most incredible guide, Vanny, who told us tales of Buddhism, Hinduism and the history of Cambodia (with an abundance of Game of Thrones references weaved in.) He also loved taking pictures and kept recommending poses (so apologies in advance for the cheesy photos, including panoramas in which we move from window to window, and nose touches with an engraved Cambodian king.) After each stop we were welcomed back into the heavily air conditioned van with cold water and a refreshing cold eucalyptus towel (Equinox style) — worth every penny. At each temple we listened to the tales, and got to know many key players — Vishnu, Shiva, Naga, Nagi, Hare Krishna, Garuda, Rama, Asparas, Happy Demon, Lazy Demon, Evil Brother Monkeys, and so many more. Additionally, Rachel may have converted to Buddhism with blessings from both a 90 year-old woman and a monk.
The temples were truly incredible. Each had different styles, some more restored than others, but all had such intricate stories carved into their walls. We were shocked at how well carvings from the 10th century held, and loved the stories behind them. A few of our favorites learnings were:
- A Hindu king commanded his subjects to destroy all the Buddhas in the temples so they decided to turn all of the Buddha’s into a Hindu God by adding a beard and turning the legs into a more angled cross-legged pose (Vanny referred to that king as the Mad King #thrones)
- Angkor Wat has an image of a God holding signs for earth, wind, fire and water, and the sign for the earth is a circle so the ancient Cambodians may have known the earth is round
- 18 is a lucky number (#chai)
Another big highlight was our hotel — we stayed at a Courtyard Marriott (#points) and expected it to be pretty standard, but it was brand new and blew us away! We were welcomed to our room (larger than our NYC apartment) with flowers, and shortly after the front desk team came up with chocolate cake, a bouquet of flowers, and a handwritten note. The breakfast was also the best yet — it included a homemade honeycomb ice cream that was better than Van Leeuwen (and the people at Van Leeuwen Prospect Heights know Rachel well…)
Key stats
Average miles/day: 7.3
R books completed: 5 (Zero to One by Peter Thiel, Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn)
G books completed: 3 (Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong, Ghost in the Wires by Kevin Mitnick)
