March 21 & 22, 2016 – People who have been to Cambodia told me to not miss visiting Angkor Wat. So, while in Cambodia I planned a trip to see this place.

Traveling through the Rice Fields.

Missionary Michael Carlyle and I headed out for Angkor Wat. It took 5-7 hours on some real good roads where we got up to 65 mph. But other roads were so bumpy (in the country) or so crowded (in the city) that 15 mph seemed fast. We traveled through rice fields. It is the dry season, so the water is low. However, in May the rainy season begins and the rivers rise and fill the fields. The houses are built on stilts because the water rises so high. Rice is planted in a dry field until it sprouts up. Then it is transplanted into a wet field where it finishes its growing. Rice is the main crop of the Cambodians. They eat it every meal.

On the trip we went through several small communities. Very poor and dry conditions. Many had a Buddhist Temple. We arrived in a town called Siem Reap and stayed in an apartment provided by missionary Forrest McPhail. He and his wife, Jennifer, have four wonderful children. They fed us a great meal for dinner, then we we went to the Night Market. We bartered for some souvenirs and I have a couple of bags full of prizes for my family.

Visiting Three Temples at Angkor.

The following morning we got up early to see the temple ruins because the temperature will get up to 100 by the middle of the day. We visited 3 temples.

Angkor Wat is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. The site covers over 400 acres and is the emblem on the Cambodian flag. It was originally built as a Hindu Temple in the 12th century but later converted to a Buddhist Temple. It is actually one temple of a group of temples, located in Cambodia. There are many temple like this, even in Thailand.

While Angkor Wat is a Temple (Wat means temple), the city of Angkor was the capital of the Khmer Empire. Angkor contains hundreds of temples. At one time, the Khmer Empire (ancestry of Cambodia) was one of the largest empires in Asia (along with China and India), and the largest in Southwest Asia. It contained what is now Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and southern Vietnam. Satellite images show that Angkor was the largest pre-industrial city in the world (including Babylon & Rome), and it is the first to reach one million in population.

This was humongous. It had a moat around complex (thousands of alligators in the original), then several walls to make a barrier around the inner complex. Much reconstruction was going on, but it was massive with lots of walking and climbing. Though it was built as a Hindu Temple, a lot of Buddhist worship and business is going on.

Angkor Thom is the second temple we visited. It is similar but was different. Rather than Hindu, it was built as a Buddhist Temple. My understanding is that it was during this time (12th century) there was a religious war going on and Buddhism won the battle in the Khmer Empire. Angkor Thom was the last temple built in Angkor. When a man became king, he would build several temples to permanently immortalize himself. Though it is not as massive in area as Angkor Wat, it has a lot more towers. The towers have 4 faces of Buddha looking in the 4 directions.

Ta Prohm is the last temple we visited. Some of it is intact, and there is restoration going on, but the temple is in ruins. After the fall of the Khmer Empire in the 17th century, this temple was abandoned. After centuries, it has been overrun with the jungle and many of the rocks have trees growing on top of them. This temple was used in the movie ‘Tomb Raiders’ (Angelina Jolie). Also, this whole experience was provided by a tuk tuk (pronounced toook toook). It’s like a small stagecoach pulled by a motorcycle. Ours was bright pink upholstery.

An Afternoon in the Museum.

During the heat of the day, we took a visit in the air-conditioned ‘Angkor National Museum.’ It is filled with the artifacts from the history of Cambodia. It has many collections from the Khmer Empire’s Angkor period (9th – 14th century). It was well worth the $12 to get in, but after you’ve seen hundreds statues you’ve seen them all.

After a pizza dinner, we headed back to the apartment for a relaxing night. It’s been a long, hot day with lots of walking. Tomorrow, we head back to Phnom Penh and I fly out tomorrow night. It will be a 5 hour flight to Korea, then a 12 hour flight to Detroit. So, it’s going to be a long, long day tomorrow. Actually, by crossing the date line, I will leave at 10:30am Wednesday morning from Seoul and get into Detroit at 10:15am Wednesday morning. Yes, I will arrive in Detroit before I leave Seoul. That is fast! I will blog one more summary blog of my Asia Adventure when I return. And I’m ready to kiss my wife and sleep in my own bed.

You can read daily blogs of my missions trip to Korea and Cambodia at: Asia Adventure – My Missions Trip 2016