Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is the heart of Cambodia and one of the main reasons I wanted to come and explore this country.  It is a UNESCO world heritage site and absolutely jaw dropping.  25 years ago Angkor Wat had a total of 7650 people visited the site.  Last year 2.2 MILLION people visited the site (that’s almost the same number of visitors per day that they had in all of 1993) and hundreds every day flock there to experience the see the sun rise over the largest of the temples.  So needless to say there were heaps of others joining us at this amazing site but the space is vast and although many of the places did feel crowded we were able to step away and find some beautiful quite spots to just sit and enjoy the beauty of these ancient temples.

I am not one who hates being in crowds nor am I one who enjoys being in busy places. If I go to a festival or something like that I think it’s great to see a large turnout to celebrate and enjoy what is going on around you but at the same time I love to get outdoors to get away from the crowds and be able to go for a hike, sit by a fire or on a beach and just enjoy the sound of nature.  With that the crowds really got to me here at first.  To arrive at this amazing location and see hordes of locals trying to sell you different tidbits and 100’s of empty tour buses and local tuk tuk drivers sleeping away while their passengers explored these ruins was definitely a bit of a downer but as the day went on and I had time to think about what these temples really stood for I started to really enjoy the fact that so many people felt it important to come and see this site.  Buddhism I suppose and religion in general is meant to bring people from all walks of life together and this site certainly accomplishes that.  Any event or location that can bring thousands of people from all different backgrounds and with a variety of beliefs together, every day, in peaceful manner is a pretty special place and Angkor Wat certainly does that. 

Those of you who know me know that I am by no means religious but I do feel that try to live by certain core values much the same of many different religions.  Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument and the world and was initially built as a hindu temple for the Khmer empire and as years went on transformed into a Buddhist temple.  Buddhism is built upon 3 Universal truths (Nothing is lost in the Universe, Everything changes and the Law of cause and effect), 4 Noble truths (Suffering exists, There is a cause of suffering, There is an end to suffering and in order to end it you must follow the eightfold path). I think this is kind of neat though when I read through the eightfold path I again understand why I am not one to practice any one given religion but choose rather to live following some of their core beliefs that speak to me.

I have to say there is something special about this place.  As I walked into these temples they really spoke to me; even through the crowds much of the noise and chatter around disappeared and everything remained calm.  There were places where you could truly feel the weight and importance of these buildings as my chest would tighten slightly.  M described similar feelings where she just felt the need to sit or kneel quietly in different places.  It was truly a surreal feeling being in the presence of these structures.