Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 13

Preah Khan Temple - Cambodia blog entry #25

Thelast ancient temple we toured in Cambodia was Preah Khan. Only we didn’treally tour it; we sprinted it.

Longstory. We were scheduled to be done with the day’s three temples and back toour hotel by 1:30, for an afternoon of leisure. So, us three women made appointmentsat the spa next door for 2:00. Plenty of time, right?

Idon’t know where we got behind schedule, but we walked into Preah Khan aroundquarter to one. K guaranteed us we had plenty of time to get back for ourappointment, that it wouldn't take long to get through this temple and we were only a half hour drive from our hotel. Oh, and we never stoppedfor lunch that day, so I was already getting hangry.

I’mnot going to tell you anything about the temple, just let you view it like Ifelt I did – one scene right after another. And did I tell you this place washuge?!

 

Temple in the pond on an island in a lake - Cambodia blog entry #24

Afterbeing overwhelmed by the beauty of Banteay Srei Temple, we rode our tuk tuk to NeakPean. But I wouldn’t consider Neak Poan a temple.

It is located on an artificial island in the center of Jayatataka Baray, which translates to pool or reservoir of Jayavarman. We walked across the long bridge over the lotus-filled lake to get there.  

Built in the middle of the 12th century, it is one of the many “hospitals” that Jayavarman VII commissioned. It was originally designed for medical purposes.

The temple sits in the middle of its own square pool, and on each of the four sides, there were four smaller ponds, representing water, earth, fire, and wind. Each of those pools were presided over by either an elephant, bull, horse, or lion.

The ancient people believed that going into the pools would balance the elements in the person, thus curing disease. It is based on the ancient Hindu belief of balance.

The horse is the only remaining statue of the animals.

It was an interesting place, but we couldn’t walk around the entire structure so it was hard to put all the features into perspective. There was also work going on, but that is a good thing, as maybe it will be easier to visualize in the near future.

Under the Big Top in Siem Reap - Cambodia blog entry #23

Maybethis week’s Sunday post has nothing to do with the religion I practice. Maybe I’mnot sharing any Bible verses or Jesus stories today. But this experience wasone of the most inspirational we witnessed while in Cambodia.

Monday,after touring another three temples, having a two-hour spa experience, and eatinganother delicious dinner in a nice restaurant, we went to The Phare Circus inSiem Reap. Other than sitting in the round “big-top”, this was more than just acircus. 

Itis a venue where the performers use theater, music, dance and modern acts totell unique Cambodian stories; historical, folk and modern. The energy,emotion, enthusiasm and talent of the young circus artists was breathtaking. 

Andmore importantly, the stories they told, using very few words but mostly actions and facial expressions,were riveting.  

 

Theshow we saw was titled “Khmer Metal”. It presented the wilder side of modern urbanlife as the artists shared the kinds of challenges that Cambodian young adultsface. 

Thesetting is a grungy Phnom Penh rock bar, where patrons demonstrate problemswith alcoholism, cheating, lying, stealing, and relationships with the oppositesex, as well as (surprisingly to me) the same sex.

Theseare all issues which young people in Cambodia struggle with, and I think we areall aware of the same problems in our cities.

Butthe entire enterprise is so much more than the show.

(From their website) The performers are studentsand graduates from Phare Ponleu Selpak’s vocational training center inBattambang. The association was formed in 1994 by nine young men coming homefrom a refugee camp after the Khmer Rouge regime. They were greatly helpedduring that time by an art teacher using drawing classes as therapy and wantedto share this new skill among the poor, socially deprived, and troubledyoungsters in Battambang. They founded an art school, and a public schoolfollowed to offer free education. A music school and theatre school were nextand finally, for the kids who wanted more, the circus school. Today more than1,200 pupils attend the public school daily and 500 attend the alternativeschools. Phare Ponleu Selpak also has extensive outreach programs, trying tohelp with the problems highlighted in their own tales.

The Cambodian Circus offers these studentsand graduates a place to hone their skills and earn a decent wage. Money thatwill take them out of poverty and give them self-respect and freedom.

The Phare Circus is reviving the arts thatwas nearly destroyed during the reign of the Khmer Rouge, while providing aneducation for the poor children of Cambodia and giving them the opportunity tolearn acting and high-flying tricks by joining the Phare Circus.

I'm sorry that the pictures don't come close to telling you what the show was really like or that I don't have more of them. The show was just so mezmerising that I didn't want to take my eyes off the performers to point my camera. Plus, it was dark in there. I hope you at least can pick up a little of their vibe. 

Eating in Cambodia - Cambodia blog entry #22

Iknow that most of you had your big turkey dinner yesterday and probably don’t wantto think about food today. We’re having our dinner tomorrow, so I’m stilllooking forward to turkey, taters, and stuffin’.

Andsince I’m thinking about eats, here are random pictures of some of the food weate on our trip to Cambodia. Thefood at the volunteer house was simple but good. Reminded me a lot of what we eatin Kenya.

Breakfast at the house was usually fruit, fried eggs, pastries and bread of some sort.  

Mostof the time, though, we ate out at various restaurants, all of them excellent. 

I’lltry to tell you what we ate where, but it’s not worth it for me to waste a lotof brain cells on it. Just go along with whatever I got here. 

Andmy travel partner is on another trip this week, so I don’t have to worry abouther chiming in and correcting me. Hee, hee.

This was the chicken wrap I had at Eleven One Kitchen, Phnom Penh. 
I think H has the fish amok, or one of the "amok" dishes. She liked those a lot. 

D had some beef kabobs. 
And I rarely knew what K ordered - usually something either hot or weird. And no, I didn't take a picture of everyone's dish at every meal. 
Chicken sandwich at Rikitikitavi's in Kampot. 

Lasagna at the Monkey Republic in Kampot the next day. 

No idea what or where this was, but I loved when they served the rice in a little teepee.

I can't remember where this was at, but it was something that K ordered. That stuff on the left that looks like rice with flecks of red in it? The red stuff is hot red ants. I tried some. Yikes! I couldn't get the water in me fast enough. 
Duck Salad with something like mango juice to drink at the Cafe Indochina - a very fancy place. 

Our last official night out. Ate at another fancy place, the Titantic, and I had the water buffalo with baby corn, because I wanted to try something different that I knew I'd like. 
But you still can't beat comfort food. This was the French toast for breakfast at the Darling Pub Hostel in Siem Reap. Umm!

Beauty Beyond Belief at Banteay Srei - Cambodia blog entry #21

Monday,September 23, we had three more temples to tour on our agenda. We set out early- not as early as the day before, though. This day we had time for a leisurelybreakfast at the hotel. The French toast was delicious – more on that on anupcoming blog post. 

Byfar I would say that thet Banteay Srei temple was the most beautiful we visited.

Consideredby many to be the crown jewel of all the Angkor area temples, Banteay Srei iscut from stone of a pinkish hue and includes some of the finest stone carvinganywhere on earth.

Workon it began in 967 CE, and though it is one of the smallest sites, it is exquisite. 

BanteaySrei is the only major temple which was not commissioned by rulers. Credit forits construction is given to the courtiers named Vishnukumara and Yajnavaraha,who served as a counsellor to King Rajendravarman II. 

Yajnavarahadedicated the temple to the Hindu god Shiva and gave it a long, unpronounceablename. Tribhuvanamaheshvara (not that you can pronounce his name either).

Thetemple's modern name, Banteay Srei—citadel of the women, or citadel ofbeauty—is probably used to describe the intricacy of the bas relief carvingsfound on the walls and the small dimensions of the buildings themselves. 

Itis a stunning place. 

I expected these guys to come to life any minute and take off on a quest to save the queen, or hunt down Indiana Jones. 

Cooking in Cambodia - Cambodia blog entry #20

Aftera full – and I mean FULL – day of touring three ancient temples, we rode ourtuk tuk back to Siem Reap. It blew my mind that there were still other templeruins just along the sides of the road. 

Orin the middle of the road. 

Wehad a quick rest at our hotel, and I took my second shower of the day. Then itwas off to Alley West, above the restaurant Crep’Italy, for our Khmer cuisinecooking class. 

Afterwe met with our chef for the evening, Narong, we picked out what we wanted tomake from the menu. While her assistant started putting together the food weneeded for our recipes, Narong took us to the local food market to educate uson Cambodian produce and seasonings.

Someof the vegetables looked very familiar and some not so much. I wish I couldremember it all.

Afterwe got back to the restaurant, I started to work on my appetizer of springrolls, main course of beef lok lak, and finally sticky rice for dessert. 

Denise had to make the bananas flambe, just to make this happen.  

Itwas a lot of fun but very hot and tiring. And after cooking it all for twohours, none of us were hungry. 

Weall tried a bite of each of our dishes, and it was all very good. But I was tooexhausted by then to think of eating more than that. We gave our leftovers toour tuk tuk driver, Sam, and he was very appreciative. Then we took a quicklook around the Night Market; I think I bought a coin purse and a skirt there.

Thenback to the hotel, where I took my third shower of the day!

Beautiful Bayon Temple - Cambodia blog entry #19

Afterlunch that Sunday of touring temples, we visited Bayon Temple. In my journal Inoted that it was my favorite so far, but after reviewing all the pictures fromthe three temples we saw that day, it really is an impossible call. They wereeach beautiful in their own way.

Bayonwas huge! One massive building that went on and on and was in decent condition,for its age. 

It’sknown for its 54 towers and four faces on each one, totaling 216 serene andsmiling stone faces. Bayon is understandably known as the Temple of Faces. 

Builtduring the reign of King Jayavarman VII, it’s thought that the faces aredepictions of him.  

Theouter walls are covered in remarkable bas reliefs portraying the life of thelocal people from warfare to everyday life. 

Thedetail of these sculptures is extraordinary. 

Maybe I liked this temple the best because of these, each one telling a detailed story.  

Disappointment at Ta Prohm – Cambodia blog entry #18

 

Afterwandering around the magnificent Angkor Wat temple and grounds for over threeand a half hours, we hopped into our tuk tuk for the short drive to Ta Prohm temple. 

Alsocalled the Jungle Temple, it is a sprawling monastic-like complex where much ofthe jungle overgrowth has been left in place. 

Itwas built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries without mortar, by theKhmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and center oflearning dedicated to his mother. After it was abandoned, trees took root inthe loosened stones. 

Thetrees eerily growing out of the ruins and the jungle have made it a populartemple with visitors to the area. Unfortunately, I feel, it is also popular forbeing the site of scenes from the Angeline Jolie movie “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”. 

Youcan have your picture taken at the classic giant tree where Angeline Jolie stood in the movie. And Ifound the commercialization disappointing.   

Howcan a film made in 2001 compare to at temple built over eight hundred years ago? And then call it the Tomb Raider Temple? 

Ok, it was still ridicously cool. And I can only imagine how beautiful it had been in its day.  

The Words God Has Given Me – Cambodia blog entry #17

         See what kind of love the Father has givento us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason whythe world does not know us is that it did not know him. (1 John 3:1, EnglishStandard Version)

Asyou do know, if you have been following this blog, I finally got to visitAngkor Wat temple in Cambodia, back in September. I wondered if it had taken meso long to get there because God really didn’t think it was a good idea for meto be obsessed with this Buddhist temple. I spent a lot of time talking to Himabout it and said that if there was a chance to witness for my almighty TriuneGod, that I would try my best if He would help me out.

Itwas a Sunday morning when I crossed the moat and the Angor temple materializedout of the cloudy sunrise. 

Aguide led us throughout the grounds and the buildings, telling us more than wecould ever remember about the place and its history. 

Atone point, we came to a long steep staircase. At the top of it, visitors hadamazing views of the beautiful surrounding area. I studied those steps and decidedthat, nope, I wasn’t going to chance it. My back and hip pain was under control,so I did not need to push myself. 

Myfriend and the two others in our little group plunged up the flight of stairs, whileI stayed behind with our tour guide. 

Istarted talking to this guide, and somewhere in the conversation he told mewhat he believes – what Buddhists believe – about heaven and hell. That hell ismore like jail, where if you haven’t been a horrible person in life, you onlygo to hell for a couple of years. If you are a mass murderer, you go thereforever. If and when you go the other direction, there are seven levels ofheaven and you have to be a good enough person and work towards enlightenmentto progress to each higher level.

Iwas like, what? So, I told him something like, “That is too much to thinkabout. I’m a Christian and it’s all pretty simple. I believe in God the Father,God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. As long as you believe that God the Son –Jesus – died for your sins and you ask for forgiveness, you will go to heavenforever. Otherwise, you go to hell. And that’s all there is to it.”

Helooked lost in thought for a minute and then went, “hmm.”

Itwas a while before either of us spoke and then I think it was about these womenworking so hard to sweep the water into the drain. 

Inmy head, though, I was apologizing to God. “I’m so sorry I screwed this up. Ishould have said more or said it differently, sounded more committed to myfaith. Please forgive me for letting You down.”

Towhich God answered me, “You did just fine, My precious child. You told himexactly what you were meant to.”

Iblinked back the tears and turned my attention to the others from our groupslowly descending the stairs.

         

And now, dear brothers and sisters, onefinal thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, andpure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent andworthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received fromme—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will bewith you. (Philippians 4:8-9, New Living Translation)

Welcome to Siem Reap - Cambodia blog entry #16

I’mgoing to back up today and tell you about the city of Siem Reap before I getback to writing about all the other temples we saw. 

Thepopulation of Siem Reap is 175,000 (or 139,000 or 245,000 depending on whichwebsite I checked); regardless, it doesn’t feel like a big city. It is filledwith French-colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old French Quarterand around the Old Market.

SiemReap was little more than a village when French explorers"re-discovered" Angkor in the 19th century. It soon became the gatewayto the expansive area of temples. 

It’ssituated about 200 miles north of Phnom Penh and a six-hour bus ride. When ourbus dropped us off, an adorable tuk tuk and its sweet driver, Sam-uel, werewaiting to whisk us off to our accommodation for the next four nights. 

Wedrove past gorgeous hotels, flowered parks filled with statues, and the festivelydecked out Siem Reap River.   

Wewent down Pub Street which I’m sure is rowdy at night. 

Butat that time of day, the streets were all clean and well kept. Then we turneddown a potholed road with rundown buildings. Great, I thought.

Then we stopped in front of the delightful Darling Pub Hostel. It had a cleanwelcoming lobby, where a woman gave us each a cup of warm ginger tea. There wasa restaurant off to the right, with an outdoor pool just passed that. (How's it possible that I took over two thousand pictures and not a one of the lobby or pool at this hotel?) (It's also hard to get decent shots when you're tuking around in the tuk tuk.)

Ourroom was very nice, super clean and had a small balcony. Smaller than our otherrooms, but comfortable enough for D and I. A home away from home away fromhome.