Angkor Wat

The temples drew us to Cambodia. Years ago when I first began researching travel in Southeast Asia I remember thinking that it seemed like at a glance Thailand offers the most beautiful beaches, Cambodia the most accessible history, and Vietnam a bit of a blend with the addition of world-class cuisine (not that either Thai or Cambodian food is bad-- it's not!).

Cambodia delivers on culture and history. There are temples EVERYWHERE but of course the big draw are the temples in and around Angkor Wat. This city of temples helped me better understand the intricate blend of Buddhist, Hindu, and Animist influences shaping local consciousness and spirituality. There is iconography from each tradition, interweavings that help us understand various thinking and story telling from different eras, and air that hangs weighty with memory from the students, scholars, and now visitors who have passed through these halls.

Before going to the temples, many folks in Siem Reap or at the hotels will advise women to dress modestly. Specifically, cover the knees and shoulders. When you go to the temples you will see plenty of women wearing strappy shirts and short skirts. Not everyone hears nor heeds this advice.

I get that a lot of women feel like these type of instructions given only to women and not to men are insulting and sexist. I don't know enough about Cambodian society, culture, and history to feel sufficiently informed to be outraged. I do know that it was pretty easy for me to wear light weight yoga pants that covered my knees and tee-shirts that covered my shoulders. I also brought a light scarf to cover my head in particularly holy sites. This demonstrated to locals, especially monks who are worshipping at many of the temples, that I meant no offense and am grateful to be given access. Well, that's what I hoped to communicate.

Dress in holy sites is often contentious and it's policed differently around the world. From what I could tell, no one would say anything about skin-baring dress in and around Angkor Wat but it did seem to be noticed. In general, my vote is to try to respect local custom as much as possible. If you wind up moving to the region and then feel sufficiently informed to challenge the norm, by all means go ahead. But be sure to be open to a foreigner challenging your norms at home too.

There are many ways to experience Angkor Wat. I'm a big fan of making the most of your park entry passes. Most parks will give you additional time if you go before closing the day before you really mean to get in there. Angkor Wat is the same. We arranged a tuk tuk to take us to the entry to purchase our passes. You can purchase 3 day, 7 day, or monthly passes and there are different fees if you're Cambodian than tourist. Seriously hush up about that unless you want an honest conversation about the access Westerners have to Cambodia versus the access Cambodians have to the West. Pay the money, be grateful, and be respectful!

We opted for a 7 day pass so that we could be less rushed in our visits. It was around sunset so with our passes we hopped back in the tuk tuk and headed for the main temples of Angkor Wat. This is a popular time to visit for good reason, it's a pretty epic view! Kevin started analyzing where we were-- to the east, to the west? So that we could get an optimal view as the sun set. Turns out, when you cross the moat to enter Angkor Wat you are facing East. We scrambled through the courtyards and hallways through Angkor Wat to get to the otherside and thereby face West. We got there. This is what it looked like.

Pretty beautiful. Another bonus was that most crowds were elsewhere so we had a quieter moment. It's amazing how you feel like you develop a level of intimacy and familiarity with these iconic spaces. I think that's why they grab our attention.

We walked back through the temples and spied some monkeys on the temple grounds. Don't feed them! Inevitably, people do because it seems cute. You're messing with their diet and their ability to protect and care for themselves. Unless you're planning to move to Siem Reap and follow through on that care, leave them alone! Enjoy them from afar!

Throughout Angkor Wat and really throughout Cambodia you find images of the dancing apsaras. I don't remember encountering them in my reading nor study prior to this visit. They're almost angels or sprites. They tantalize and entertain. In some way they became an access point to Cambodia for me-- beautiful, considered, and very watchful.

Angkor Wat is only one of thousands of temples. As the sky grew darker we found our tuk tuk and headed home for dinner and rest. We returned to the temples in earnest the following day.