Angkor - Wat a place
Sorry about the title, couldn't help myself.
So when I last left you we departed Phnom Phen on our way to Siam Reap and the famous Temples of Angkor. Given the enourmousocity of the site and all the great things to see there, it's hard to know where to begin. Oh, how about this, it's owned by the Japanese. That's right, the $20USD per day that tourists pump into the site goes not to the land of obscene poverty, but to that entreprenuerial little island nation that owns half of new york and was in some way involved in the computer you're using right now. But enough of that.
Angkor is the real deal Indian Jones lost civilization stuffness. It's like walking through the set of tomb raider!!!
This doorway was actually in the movie tomb raider.
And like all good religious monuments, Angkor comes complete with Monks! Lots and lots of Monks.
Of course I could spend hours going on about the importance these locales played in the once vast and mighty Khmer empire. Of all the interesting historical information I picked up along the way. Like how I helped the Gods and Demons pull the ancient seven-headed serpent "naga" which rotated a wheel resting on the back of Lord Shiva (while in the form of a giant turtle, of course) that in turn churned the sea of milk and thus created the elixier of life and that is why we are all here today...
But you don't want to hear about all that history, so let's get back to the monks.
Monks are surprisingly nimble creatures not at all like the stereotypical yoda-old dudes you hear about in the West. Just look at how this whipper snapper of a monk blazed past the camera. (This entire paragraph is just an excuse to post this photo cause I like it)
AND they don't have to be all "pure" and "reflective" like we're lead to believe. Some actually put on their flowing saffron robes just to take tourists around Angkor Wat. I didn't think about paying money for a guide but when a Monk asks, you kinda feel obligated. Hey! Wait a minute, what's that in your hand?
BUSTED!
Nothing worse than a Fake Monk. Has Cambodia no shame?
Course, closer inspection of Angkor reveals a different story. I mean, how can you get mad at a guy when his ancestors felt strongly enough about smoking to carve it into the rock of ages.
And from the looks of those smoke rings, the ancient Khmer liked their pizza "Extra Happy"*.
Besides Angkor Wat and the Monks, the temples of Angkor include Bayon - Better known as "Holy blaspheme Batman! those are the giant heads I've always seen but never bothered to learn about".
Though interesting to observe, the Bayon Heads lack advanced conversation skills and really are quite dull to speak with. One did challenge me to a semi-smiling contest and proceeded to crush me.
Apparently there's a guy in town who's gone days in staring contests but just can't seem to win. Shame.
Okay, I totally made that up. But I found it funny. I'm very tired.
Oh! Hey! Ran into Mowgli at the temples. He says "Have Two Bananas" and if you see Baloo you tell him to keep his Bare Necessities, Mowgli's getting a Lexus. Whatever that means?
On our last day in Siam Reap we hired a rickshaw driver, Mr. Mato (who starred at me like I had three head as I said "Domo Arigato Mr. Mato"), to take us to a more distant temple that's regarded as "the crown jewel of Angkor".
That's it.
Tell me the Queen Mum wouldn't pitch a fit if you told her her "Crown Jewel" was a 0.65 Karat CZ.
While the detail was nice, we couldn't help but think "we've seen this before".....
It was then we discovered that the entire Angkor Temple complex (and the religion of the Khmers) was heavily influenced (Read - Created) by Indian traders that had to spend 6 months in Southeast Asia waiting for the Monsoon winds to change direction and carry them home to India. Eureka, the whole place is a knock-off! Oh well, I guess that's more plausable that the whole U.F.O.'s coming to Earth and teaching the Mayan, Incan, Eygptian, Indian, and Khmer people to build temples theory.
We'll just stop here for gas before heading home......What the????? Doo doo, do do, doo doo, do do, etc.
*See previous post on Cambodia and the copious amounts of ganja present in Phnom Phen for clarification.
So when I last left you we departed Phnom Phen on our way to Siam Reap and the famous Temples of Angkor. Given the enourmousocity of the site and all the great things to see there, it's hard to know where to begin. Oh, how about this, it's owned by the Japanese. That's right, the $20USD per day that tourists pump into the site goes not to the land of obscene poverty, but to that entreprenuerial little island nation that owns half of new york and was in some way involved in the computer you're using right now. But enough of that.
Angkor is the real deal Indian Jones lost civilization stuffness. It's like walking through the set of tomb raider!!!
This doorway was actually in the movie tomb raider.
And like all good religious monuments, Angkor comes complete with Monks! Lots and lots of Monks.
Of course I could spend hours going on about the importance these locales played in the once vast and mighty Khmer empire. Of all the interesting historical information I picked up along the way. Like how I helped the Gods and Demons pull the ancient seven-headed serpent "naga" which rotated a wheel resting on the back of Lord Shiva (while in the form of a giant turtle, of course) that in turn churned the sea of milk and thus created the elixier of life and that is why we are all here today...
But you don't want to hear about all that history, so let's get back to the monks.
Monks are surprisingly nimble creatures not at all like the stereotypical yoda-old dudes you hear about in the West. Just look at how this whipper snapper of a monk blazed past the camera. (This entire paragraph is just an excuse to post this photo cause I like it)
AND they don't have to be all "pure" and "reflective" like we're lead to believe. Some actually put on their flowing saffron robes just to take tourists around Angkor Wat. I didn't think about paying money for a guide but when a Monk asks, you kinda feel obligated. Hey! Wait a minute, what's that in your hand?
BUSTED!
Nothing worse than a Fake Monk. Has Cambodia no shame?
Course, closer inspection of Angkor reveals a different story. I mean, how can you get mad at a guy when his ancestors felt strongly enough about smoking to carve it into the rock of ages.
And from the looks of those smoke rings, the ancient Khmer liked their pizza "Extra Happy"*.
Besides Angkor Wat and the Monks, the temples of Angkor include Bayon - Better known as "Holy blaspheme Batman! those are the giant heads I've always seen but never bothered to learn about".
Though interesting to observe, the Bayon Heads lack advanced conversation skills and really are quite dull to speak with. One did challenge me to a semi-smiling contest and proceeded to crush me.
Apparently there's a guy in town who's gone days in staring contests but just can't seem to win. Shame.
Okay, I totally made that up. But I found it funny. I'm very tired.
Oh! Hey! Ran into Mowgli at the temples. He says "Have Two Bananas" and if you see Baloo you tell him to keep his Bare Necessities, Mowgli's getting a Lexus. Whatever that means?
On our last day in Siam Reap we hired a rickshaw driver, Mr. Mato (who starred at me like I had three head as I said "Domo Arigato Mr. Mato"), to take us to a more distant temple that's regarded as "the crown jewel of Angkor".
That's it.
Tell me the Queen Mum wouldn't pitch a fit if you told her her "Crown Jewel" was a 0.65 Karat CZ.
While the detail was nice, we couldn't help but think "we've seen this before".....
It was then we discovered that the entire Angkor Temple complex (and the religion of the Khmers) was heavily influenced (Read - Created) by Indian traders that had to spend 6 months in Southeast Asia waiting for the Monsoon winds to change direction and carry them home to India. Eureka, the whole place is a knock-off! Oh well, I guess that's more plausable that the whole U.F.O.'s coming to Earth and teaching the Mayan, Incan, Eygptian, Indian, and Khmer people to build temples theory.
We'll just stop here for gas before heading home......What the????? Doo doo, do do, doo doo, do do, etc.
*See previous post on Cambodia and the copious amounts of ganja present in Phnom Phen for clarification.
posted by aiechter at 2:13 AM
1 Comments:
hey, four, it was grrrrrreat to hear from you! thanks so much for the call!! (let this be an advert to all other readers - leave comments and they might call you!!)
here's rim's # in the dr 809 768 4433 as he gave it to me.
bummer we got dropped/cut off - but so cool to talk to you. see you in may, gemini :)
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