Now we must back-track a bit... 
The first day I got back to Thailand, I had made contact with two people from my recently finished teaching course who were still in the country. They let me know that they would be in Bangkok soon and that they were then going to head out to visit another guy from our course... so I invited myself along as well! I left the beach and arrived back in Bangkok to meet them, and we left on a train to the Cambodian border at 5am. My first time crossing a land border went smoothly (I wouldn't always be able to say this later). We arrived at Siem Reap in time to see the sunset. We started up an inclined path that wrapped around a tree-covered hill. At the top was a stone temple, the steps of which were so steep that we had to use our hands to steady ourselves in our ascent. Once we reached, we could see for miles. Thankfully, my friend had loaned me her camera (mine was still out of commission; see the forthcoming "Curse of the Emerald Buddha"). I mainly took interest in the interesting cloud formations played across the dazzling face of the sun, although from this distance we could vaguely make out the most famous temple in this World Heritage Site...
The next morning we again woke up at the crack of dawn and met our very sleepy tuk-tuk driver from the previous evening to arrive at our destination before sun-up. The sky was starting to lighten, but the golden orb had not yet made its appearance. A crowd was gathering, quite a few hundred in number. We wandered around to scope out photo ops, then the edge of the temple's outline began to glow. Slowly the sun climbed over this ancient Hindu structure, a shimmering reflection mirrored in the lily ponds on either side of the stone causeway. Angkor Wat was stunning! This too went on my list of most amazing things I've seen in my life (I have a list!)
This sentiment only filled-out as the day went on. Our next stop was a temple that featured over 200 gigantic stone faces of the Buddha. By 3pm, I was feeling exhausted and all the temples were starting to look the same. But I received relief when our driver dropped us off at a path leading into the forest. The shade provided by the trees was immediately refreshing. I wound through the jungle, my expectations building... and then fulfilled! Moss-covered blocks crumbled all around due to the weight of the massive trees growing on top of them, thick roots choking the stone edifice, snaking reptilian into cracks and mutilating the masonry, before shooting skyward. The afternoon sun shot arrows through the foliage of the canopy, light bursting from the spots where they struck stone and cascading down the facade in a waterfall of luminescence. Of all the temples, this was my favorite. I was ready to pitch a tent and live there!
On Sunday, I took a 6-hour bus ride (short, for a bus journey in Southeast Asia) to Phnom Penh. I didn't have as much time as my companions, and I needed to go see our friend there. "Uncle" Rusty, as I now call him, was a great host to me during my short time in the capital, showing me around and giving me lots of information I would rather have remained blissfully ignorant of (ie. the fact that there are no police on duty at night; they are under-paid and so everyone opts for the day-shift!) He took me to the two genocide museums in the city- it was hard to stomach. Confronting past atrocities that I previously had no knowledge of was a shocking and moving experience. Walking through a school that was converted into a prison and viewing photos of torture victims in which the orange and white tiles I stood on presently were clearly visible, it was impossible not to seethe inwardly with anger- anger at the inhumanity, but also anger that this had been kept out of my ne'er-do-wrong-country's educational curriculum. For an event that was so integrally tied with the United States' role there, I was ashamed that this information had not been taught to me. A memorial pagoda enclosing a tower full of skulls, a tree with bones for roots, endless grass-covered depressions where mass graves had been excavated, and the most haunting- mugshots of prisoners, giving way to photos of their deceased bodies- scrawny in death, the life having been previously extracted and drained from them. The images will stay with me for a long time.
Visiting the national palace was a welcome reprieve from an emotionally difficult experience. I was immediately caught in yet another Southeast Asian monsoon-season downpour and ran to take shelter at the nearest building (not before climbing its many small and uncovered steps). I sat down and peered out at the rain which was coming down in curtains, waves of it sweeping across the pavement into manicured lawns. It reminded me of watching thunderstorms in the garage with my dad, albeit from significantly more exquisite surroundings. The multi-tiered rooftops in the palace compound may have been deprived of sunlight, but the tiles still glowed like a chalk painting on wet blacktop, green, blue, and gold. I watched as more people climbed the stairs to escape the rain, already completely drenched but smiling and laughing.
When the rain let up, I hurried to get back to my hotel to pack for my early flight the next morning, to go to...
The first day I got back to Thailand, I had made contact with two people from my recently finished teaching course who were still in the country. They let me know that they would be in Bangkok soon and that they were then going to head out to visit another guy from our course... so I invited myself along as well! I left the beach and arrived back in Bangkok to meet them, and we left on a train to the Cambodian border at 5am. My first time crossing a land border went smoothly (I wouldn't always be able to say this later). We arrived at Siem Reap in time to see the sunset. We started up an inclined path that wrapped around a tree-covered hill. At the top was a stone temple, the steps of which were so steep that we had to use our hands to steady ourselves in our ascent. Once we reached, we could see for miles. Thankfully, my friend had loaned me her camera (mine was still out of commission; see the forthcoming "Curse of the Emerald Buddha"). I mainly took interest in the interesting cloud formations played across the dazzling face of the sun, although from this distance we could vaguely make out the most famous temple in this World Heritage Site...
The next morning we again woke up at the crack of dawn and met our very sleepy tuk-tuk driver from the previous evening to arrive at our destination before sun-up. The sky was starting to lighten, but the golden orb had not yet made its appearance. A crowd was gathering, quite a few hundred in number. We wandered around to scope out photo ops, then the edge of the temple's outline began to glow. Slowly the sun climbed over this ancient Hindu structure, a shimmering reflection mirrored in the lily ponds on either side of the stone causeway. Angkor Wat was stunning! This too went on my list of most amazing things I've seen in my life (I have a list!)
This sentiment only filled-out as the day went on. Our next stop was a temple that featured over 200 gigantic stone faces of the Buddha. By 3pm, I was feeling exhausted and all the temples were starting to look the same. But I received relief when our driver dropped us off at a path leading into the forest. The shade provided by the trees was immediately refreshing. I wound through the jungle, my expectations building... and then fulfilled! Moss-covered blocks crumbled all around due to the weight of the massive trees growing on top of them, thick roots choking the stone edifice, snaking reptilian into cracks and mutilating the masonry, before shooting skyward. The afternoon sun shot arrows through the foliage of the canopy, light bursting from the spots where they struck stone and cascading down the facade in a waterfall of luminescence. Of all the temples, this was my favorite. I was ready to pitch a tent and live there!
On Sunday, I took a 6-hour bus ride (short, for a bus journey in Southeast Asia) to Phnom Penh. I didn't have as much time as my companions, and I needed to go see our friend there. "Uncle" Rusty, as I now call him, was a great host to me during my short time in the capital, showing me around and giving me lots of information I would rather have remained blissfully ignorant of (ie. the fact that there are no police on duty at night; they are under-paid and so everyone opts for the day-shift!) He took me to the two genocide museums in the city- it was hard to stomach. Confronting past atrocities that I previously had no knowledge of was a shocking and moving experience. Walking through a school that was converted into a prison and viewing photos of torture victims in which the orange and white tiles I stood on presently were clearly visible, it was impossible not to seethe inwardly with anger- anger at the inhumanity, but also anger that this had been kept out of my ne'er-do-wrong-country's educational curriculum. For an event that was so integrally tied with the United States' role there, I was ashamed that this information had not been taught to me. A memorial pagoda enclosing a tower full of skulls, a tree with bones for roots, endless grass-covered depressions where mass graves had been excavated, and the most haunting- mugshots of prisoners, giving way to photos of their deceased bodies- scrawny in death, the life having been previously extracted and drained from them. The images will stay with me for a long time.
Visiting the national palace was a welcome reprieve from an emotionally difficult experience. I was immediately caught in yet another Southeast Asian monsoon-season downpour and ran to take shelter at the nearest building (not before climbing its many small and uncovered steps). I sat down and peered out at the rain which was coming down in curtains, waves of it sweeping across the pavement into manicured lawns. It reminded me of watching thunderstorms in the garage with my dad, albeit from significantly more exquisite surroundings. The multi-tiered rooftops in the palace compound may have been deprived of sunlight, but the tiles still glowed like a chalk painting on wet blacktop, green, blue, and gold. I watched as more people climbed the stairs to escape the rain, already completely drenched but smiling and laughing.
When the rain let up, I hurried to get back to my hotel to pack for my early flight the next morning, to go to...
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