A cathartic re-connecting to the world. It was dark out when I began my ride. Though it wasn't 5 am yet, the air was warm and sticky. Smells of yesterday's spices lingered in the air. The breeze blowing through me felt reviving. And so the journey began, biking my way through the Angkor Temples of Cambodia.
We raced the sun to get to Angkor Wat. The entire temple is art. Each column is carved with intricate images and ancient words of Sanskrit. Even the window bars were beautifully and meticulously shaped. Simple stacked rocks are altars reaching upward. Wandering the halls of this ancient wonder was awe inspiring.
Always an audience- even while trying to lock up my bike I was followed and watched by kids made to work by selling to thirsty tourists. After a relaxing stop at a cool cafe that included a bowl of sweet fruits and a refreshing tiger balm towel for the neck, it was time to ride on to the next destination.
A clumsy bus usually carries me down this road. This time I carried myself. The sounds were different. The monkeys were a little to close for comfort. The colors were too tempting to pass up and pictures had to be taken.
Angkor Thom is something out of a waiting adventure. Its ruins are magical. I could sit in one of the towers and wonder at the carefully carved faces that are woven throughout for a good long while. And I did. I enjoyed quiet conversation, watching from afar and just thinking about life- the simplicity and complexity of it all is a mess of tangled adventure.
From there it was time to find the elephants for a bouncy ride. Back on bikes again, back toward where we had come, a new path was taken. Though we had a map, somehow along the way we missed our turn. And then another. Lost. But it was good. A simple village arose where people were living their lives... Woven mats were spread wide working with the sun to dry the rice... Naked babies entertaining themselves with simple sticks... Uniformed students riding or walking home from a morning of learning... Car batteries being charged at a roadside stand in order to provide a home with electricity later that evening... Lush trees, brilliant flowers and an encroaching jungle lined the orange earth road. It was a lovely detour, a great place to get lost.
Finally we decided to get some directions- we were WAY off base. Three giddy girls with very little English looked at our map and pointed out where we were and which way we needed to bike to get to where we wanted to be. They did speak enough English to ask for a dollar for their trouble. Back down the beautiful road again. A right turn. And then another.
A last temple to see. My favorite one of all~Ta Prohm. The way the tree giants weave themselves through and around and over the buckling temple walls is enchanting. Colossal roots have overtaken the land and I feel small.
It's late afternoon and my stomach is ready for some of the best Khmer food I have tasted. A vegetable curry with a cold water and a cold soda is just the ticket.
But we still hadn't found those elephants yet... where did they get to anyway? So we had one more stop to make. Continuing on our bikes, a bit more sore than we were before lunch, we made our way to the elephants. They were huge. And harry. And we bumbled slowly up the side of the mountain to a grand surprise~ One more temple. Only this one has really steep steps, and I'm wasn't sure I had it in me anymore to climb another. But we decided to do it. We climbed sideways so as to not point our butts to the gods, as we were told on an earlier tour. And what a delicious treat for the eyes it was.
Up so high, a view all around of the below. Simple flags flapped in the warm breeze. The smell of incense burning for Buddha perfumed the air. A grand finish to a grand day.
No comments:
Post a Comment