Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is the most famous of the temples in the complex. It was built between 1113 and 1150 and primarily dedicated to three Hindu Gods – Rama, Vishnu and Shiva. Think of them as the “Creator”, the “Protector” and the “Destroyer”, respectively.

It was here that we saw the most definitive indication of the impact of the Khmer Rouge, or the Pol Pot regime who ruled Cambodia between 1974 and 1979. Under this regime, the restoration efforts were halted and the place was abandoned. Soldiers frequently took rifle practice out on the location, leaving bulletholes throughout.

Let’s also not forget that at the beginning of that dictatorship Cambodia had a population of over 7 million people. 2 million were killed. 1 million escaped to other countries. Another million just disappeared. The country was left with a population of less than 3 million people.

Think what it’d be like if half the people you know suddenly disappeared. Your doctor is truly no longer available. The newspaper editor has vanished. The guy who changes the oil in your car quits showing up for work.

What kind of impact must that have on the psyche of an entire nation?

This temple is still popular among newlyweds (who come here to pray for a pregnancy) and students (who are after good grades). If you get what you’re after, you come back and make an offering.

There are decorations around temples called "Absonald," which are essentially representations of a goddess. She tends to be relatively well endowed and dancing. There are about 2,000 of them on this temple, more than any other in the world – and only one shows her givin’ us a big toothy grin – in all the others, her lips are closed!

As you go up the bridge to the main temple, there are two libraries, one on either side of the paved walkway. Although the “books”, which were on either animal hides or leaves, are gone, the inscriptions on the buildings remain. They tend to be instructions on how to pray in this particular temple.

The three towers of Angkor Wat that are visible when you approach the temple are on the Cambodian National Flag. It’s the only national flag to have a building on it.

Angkor Wat, like much of Thailand, is not handicapped accessible. In the interest of good tourism, though, they’ve installed stairways (albeit very steep ones) over the original temple stairs, having recognized that splattering tourists on the ground may make a readily available supply of sacrifices, but it plays hell with your revenue stream.

Inside the temples, they have the same threshold situation that Thailand had, except these are out of stone and you have to step up further to go from one room to the other. Given his back issues today, EB opted to avoid the upper tiers.

Words can’t describe this site. It feels remarkably calm to walk on the grounds, even if you don’t understand the stories that are portrayed on the walls.

EB chilling at the base of one of the buildings.....resting his back strain.