Visiting temples

I have had a couple of days visiting temples recently. The first time Mr J and I dropped Paul the Dutch teacher off at Angkor Thom then went on through the countryside to a small temple called Banteay Samri which was very serene as few people get out there. Mr J is very good and will give instructions like "up the path then turn left and enter the temple from the East" this ensures the sun is in the right place for a photo

 

I stayed there about an hour then we made our way back towards the main temples, stopping off at Pre Rup a Hindu temple which had been on the journey to the orphanage when I first arrived (a month ago now).

We then visited an ancient bridge out of which were growing trees looking like pieces of cloth. I had planned to walk between some of the temples nearer to Angkor Thom but then realised that the map scale was a bit deceptive and it was actually a long way. While I waited for Paul, I met two Swedish brothers who invited me to share their lunch table. This is quite normal - I am meeting people from many parts of the world.

Paul and I then went to Ta Prohm, pictures of which I've already posted.

This Saturday I went to do the Grand Circuit picking up some temples I'd not visited before. The North Gate was less preserved than the more popular South but with its lichen covered statues was very atmospheric and evocative of the era.

Our first destination was Preah Khan which was a capital city before the main Angkor ones. It had many beautiful statues and a very fine cottonwood tree growing through the stones. Again Mr J dropped me at one point and picked me up an hour later on the opposite side of the complex.

 

Our next destination was Neak Pean a tiny temple sitting on a man made lake enclosed by another large lake - a baray. Lonely Planet describes it as what Las Vegas would design to fit into their hotel strip!

And finally to Ta Som

 

Then home for a swim!

 

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Bhikkhuni

I believe this the name for the elderly female monks to be found in temples. I was in Ta Prohm this weekend and took this picture of one who had blessed me and tied an orange string on my wrist

There are many shrines within the temple so you are likely to meet a few of these ladies. If you ask them and make a very small donation, you can light some tapers, bow three times, then blow them out and leave them with others to smoke (see the photo after the next one).

This Bhikkhuni (I'm not sure of her title because there are different forms of Buddhism) at Preah Khan blew onto my head and brushed away ?evil spirits. She was very happy to have me take her photograph when I asked and laughed out loud when I showed it to her.

 

As you can see, with my seven day temple pass which lasts for a month, I am getting out and about and starting to recognise the various elements of the temple architecture and decoration. However, the overhelming beauty and skill is always amazing.

At Ta Proem (where parts of Tomb Raider were filmed). I am in my general gear - long sleeved white cotton top, and long trousers + sneakers for rough pavements.

 

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All about animals

I have seen a few animals over the past few days and thought you might like some pictures. These monkeys are on the roadway between Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom posing for tourists who buy bananas for them from a roadside stand.

 

The big daddy I think, and this one is a very small baby monkey who was a bit nervous that he might lose his fruit

And these are not bothered about eating - they just want to play in the water

Nearby were the elephants who give tourists rides round the temples. I hadn't seen them before as they only work in the mornings. One was carrying a coconut in his curved trunk as if he was taking his mid morning snack to work with him.

This next picture is of the beautiful sculptures at North Gate. The elephants are holding lotus blossoms in their trunks. The lotus is especially sacred as it is fixed in the earth, grows in water and is nourished by the sun - all elements which are part of the Hindu universe. Apparently all the stones for the temples were hauled in by elephant.

Here is what is described as a 'free range' hen and chicks

I was doing some northern temples a few days ago where the sky was full of flying insects about two inches long. When I looked closer I saw they were bright yellow and black, usually a danger signs so tried to avoid them

Just round the corner was this rather pretty dragonfly of which there are many different varieties. Butterflies abound too but don't stay still long enough for the camera.

This lizard was copper bronze and very quick. Haven't seen any snakes yet - apparently they are more common in the more remote temples.

And here's a baby crocodile from my visit to the farm a week or so ago. They are very S shaped at this stage in their lives.

Plus a big ten year old monster.

This was one of the orphanage dogs who seemed to enjoy lying in front of the blackboard. It was quite usual to have a range of pets there with us in class - not so much in the current school.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Daily schedule

I get up at 6am each day (long after the tourists have left for dawn at the temples). After showering and applying copious amounts of anti bug spray I go down to the open area at the hotel for breakfast. There is an outbreak of dengue fever locally for which the only treatment is avoidance of bites unlike malaria for which I'm taking tablets. Breakfast is usually banana pancakes, omelette with delicious French bread or fresh tropical fruit salad with yogurt. Usually in this area are to be found the other long term residents - Belgians, Dutch, Americans (all teachers) plus we have groups of people who are working for an organisation called Cambodia Building Volunteers who are literally making safe and water proof houses in the villages. These people are usually on a team building exercise from their companies in Singapore etc. Then we have the tourists who are usually very pleasant. The majority of them are Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Korean), then come the Aussies and New Zealanders and then about 10% are European.

At 7.45 am I leave for school by tuk tuk, arriving after crossing the river at about 8 am to find that my morning group has opened the classroom, cleaned the floor and written the date on the blackboard.

 

These three are not in my class which has a bit of a floating population. Sometimes I get siblings who are being babysat and they sit quite happily with some crayons and an ABC book. The left hand side of the class are learners who are just starting on separate words getting the shapes and spacing right. Cambodian writing is very ornate and written in blocks so it is quite a challenge for children to learn English. To the right in the morning are my five "likely" lads + one girl who is very good and so I am getting her to read simple books then testing her for vocabulary and comprehension. The boys are doing phonics and really are very good at taking words down from dictation. We usually intersperse heavy learning with songs or games like Hangman. After an hour the children have a play and food break of about 20 minutes, then we start again with some art or other activities. This session finishes at 10.30 am when the children go home for lunch. Today Paul took the more advanced children into the library (now restored after the floods) and did some listening of John Denver's 'Leaving on a Jet Plane' on his iPad to get them listening and comprehending lyrics which went down well. Today's visitors into the school were two nuns from the same order as Mother Teresa whom I saw as I left.

Today we went to the office at lunch time to drop off my passport for visa renewal and then stopped at the photocopying shop to copy some activity sheets loaned by one of the other teachers. We are very much left to our own devices as to materials and make up of lessons. However, stationery etc is extremely cheap. This is what I brought for $24.25 for my students (sorry it's sideways)

The children love being given paper and are very good at copying so I am getting them to be a bit free-er in their designs (consequently I got loads of Angry Birds and Hello Kitty) but ... small steps! This is a picture of two of the children at the orphanage who were getting down to their copying and colouring a few weeks ago.

 

We then go back to the hotel for lunch but usually end up at the hotel next door where there is a pool and good wi fi! Lunch is soup of some kind then we return to school. I usually have Sechong with me to translate, if she is not available because she is guiding tourists, the Mr J comes into the class.

The afternoon group has more children who are learners so the make up is a bit different - today we did parts of the face and then had a rousing chorus of Head, shoulders, knees and toes which the children knew from previous volunteers. Again there's a break - very important when the temperature is in the mid 80s - today the girls had their usual fruit etc but I was puzzled by something battered on a polystyrene tray - fried frog in all its glory with its little legs all spread out! We finish very hot and sticky at 4.00 pm and return to the hotel.

I've been swimming every day then changing and going out for dinner. There are many many places to chose from so I've been exploring Cambodian food which is very good indeed although you have to avoid the evil red chillies if you want to be able to speak! People are very friendly - locals and visitors so I usually end up talking to someone interesting. Home for lesson planning and a bit of BBC World Service and a read before falling sound asleep under my mosquito net and cooling fan.

 

 

 

 

 

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Mr J

I though you would like to see a picture of Mr J who looks after me and makes sure that I don't get lost.

He is an exceptionally nice man - newly married (8 months ago) and really loves children.  He often comes into the classroom with me and will translate or give the children instructions in Khmer.  He is employed Monday to Friday by the volunteer organisation here as my driver but is available at weekends.  Paying him to take me to the temples (about 10km) away for the day is about $15.  He is very knowledgeable about the temples and is very careful about not bumping through potholes or making some of the dubious traffic moves that other drivers do .....

Tuk Tuk outside the neighbouring hotel

All the Tuk Tuks are very similar and attached to a basic motorcycle with a frame and pinion so they can be removed and used separately.  They usually have advertising on the back or a sign to say the Tuk Tuk has been donated.  The electric cables on the pole are normal - here the electricity will go off quite frequently but this hotel (Motherhome Inn) is more modern and seems better wired.

An interesting week

It started off with the arrival of a new volunteer from Holland who is here for two weeks.  Paul is working in my school in the mornings and is out at a floating school with teenagers in the afternoon.  He has been taking my absolute learners so I could move the more advanced children forward.  So this week we have been playing Junior Scrabble - I think the group really enjoyed winning tokens for each word completed.  One of the girls was interested in our Royal Family (we had been doing c and kicking k for King) and I managed to find a Hello magazine in the expat supermarket and of course it was full of pictures so that led to some interesting discussions.  We also did Jelly on the Plate with actions which all the children loved.  Tomorrow I'll do a test which all the children love especially if they get a star for their books.  As you can see I'm having a ball!

Bayon - Buddhist temple at Angkor Thom

We have numerous holidays during October and surprise we had a day off on Wed.  Paul who is young and fit went cycling while I took a tuk tuk out to Angkor Thom again as, because it is huge, there was plenty more to see.  I started at the South Gate to see the statues of the gods and demons in a tug of war called Churning of the Ocean of Milk.  This is part of Hindu mythology.

Demons pulling the snake in the tug of war to Churn the Ocean of Milk

 Part of the bas relief showing the sea animals affected by the Churning (within the Bayon)

This legend  also appeared on the carvings at Angkor Wat.  Then I went back to The Bayon which was full of very small monks on a class trip.  I then waked to see the Baphuon which has only been reopened for a year or so.  Archaeologists where restoring it before they had to leave because of the 1970s war.  Then all the plans were lost so when work recommenced in the 1990s it was like putting a giant jigsaw back together.
Angkor Thom was a city of 100,000 people in the 10th century when London had only 50,000.  All the people in 54 regions came here to worship.  After the Baphuon you walk through a wall and past a lake called Sras Srei which is overgrown with lotus and very delicate blue water lilies to go to a temple with very steep sides called Phimeanakas. Quite a stiff climb at 86 degrees in the midday sun, but yes, I did it.

Steps up to the Phimeanakas 

 At this point there are very few tourists and you are walking through cool green forests with just the birds singing and the occasional very very small toad or line of ants for company.

Cool water in the jungle

Another walk brings you to Preah Palilay where I met a very nice little boy who asked me to sponsor his teacher's wages - this I did and he then asked "and a tip for me Madame?"  How could I resist?

Preah Palilay 

He then insisted on showing me his school - made of local wood with a thatched roof and raised about 15 feet off the ground out of the flood level.  He pointed out all the computers on the desks around the walls - quite open and apparently unguarded.  He was very proud of these and said all the children learnt English and computing.

Monks

A monk came into my classroom this week and, when I went towards him and bowed, looked a bit puzzled and walked away.  When I asked Mr J the tuk tuk driver who often comes into class with me what he wanted, he responded "no one knows because he comes from Thailand and nobody can understand what he's saying".

Monks visiting Bayon at Angkor Thom

Monks are an everyday part of life - I've seen six squashed into a tuk tuk, they are often on the backs of motorcycle taxis (I can't imagine our priests and vicars doing the same) and are to be seen conducting ceremonies everywhere.

This is a shrine to a Neak-ta which is a local powerful spirit connected to a specific place.  He is called Ya Tep and is under a large tree in the middle off the road near to the Royal Residence.  My guide book says that people often leave offerings of chicken skin next to the shrine to ask for good luck (and winning lottery tickets).  It seems as if the faithful were asking for something quite large as they had left a pig's head.  I went past the following day and it had disappeared.

I saw three people on the steps of one of the Angkor Thom temples having water poured over them by a monk looking a bit disconcerted.  I made sure I walked away quickly in case I shouldn't have been there.  I went to the local shopping centre and saw about 15 gathered outside for what reason I couldn't imagine.

I have seen two funeral processions - today the children rushed to the door at the sound of music announcing the entrance into the Wat that is attached to the school, of the cremation courtage.  The one I saw on Sunday was very big indeed.  First came schoolchildren of about 12-16 years old walking two by two and holding fans to their faces, they were dressed, like the rest of the mourners, in black skirts or trousers with white tops with black ribbons rather like our breast cancer ones, on their lapels.  Next came women - carrying golden parcels (offerings for the journey).  Then came the monk very resplendent in a tuk tuk especially decorated in white coverings.  He was followed by men and women with thick white ropes in their hands pulling the bier.  This was about 10' tall and very ornate in white, black and gold, as was the double sized coffin.  To the sides crouched men and women.  Then followed more mourners holding lotus flowers or golden branches.  All these people came out of a hose that was decorated with white banners and bunting and laid out for an eventual feast.  I was told that, because of the number of children, it was probable that this person was a teacher.  I didn't take photographs as it didn't seem appropriate.

Delivering food

I went to the office on Sunday to help with the food delivery to people living right by the side of the Siem Reap river who had been flooded over and over again during this very severe Monsoon season.  The organisers - Andre (from Holland) and Lilly (from Cambodia) who run the umbrella organisation for whom I am working, had collected donations during a recent trip to Holland. They had purchased food - rice, tinned fish etc - and made them up into parcels.  This would represent a week's worth of food.  The villagers not only had been stranded in their houses but had been able to get to work to earn any money.

We first decided to walk into the village over the bridge which was about 2" above the level of the water, take some parcels (we had a local person with us who identified the most needy) then invite them back to collect others. We parked in a total stranger's yard, explained what we were doing to which she responded use what ever you want from my house. I had said I didn't mind going into the water but I didn't want to if there were going to be snakes.  A bit of a conversation in Khmer then the answer was ïf there were any snakes the villagers would have eaten them by now.  Comforting!

After wading over we started to deliver the parcels and explain what we were doing.

Even though some of the waters had receded it was still a mess within the village with ruined crops.  

The level of the water was at least three feet above ground level on the village side.  All these houses are due to be destroyed with the people being rehoused.  Then flood defenses will be built to ensure that the rest of the area is, in part, flood proof. This has happened nearer to Siem Reap with great effect.

The families followed us (back into the stranger's yard) and collected their supplies.  They were very pleased with what we had been able to do for them.

The lady with the purple top came over to me and bowed very deeply with her hands very high in prayer which is a symbol of great respect - we did share a long look and connection.  

Apsara

I have now seen apsara dancer sculptures at Angkor Wat and all over the other temples I have seen. They are quite compelling so I've taken loads of pictures but I promise not to put them all up on this Blog.

 

From Banteay Srei

I have now been to see a live show under the stars at a local (quite posh) hotel. The manager, whom I'd spoken to when I walked in to book, had kindly put me right at the front to I was able to see the enormous skill of the dancing. They are based on myth and legend so one was a dancer with Hanoman the monkey god who was trying to tempt her. The final one involved very slow movements to hands and feet in wonderful poses all of which have meaning (a bit like ballet). Hopefully I will be able to see it again whilst I am here.

 

This dancer was so skilled. The Hotel Manager then asked if I would like to have my photo taken with her but I decided not to.

Can't resist another one sorry (this is because I succumbed and brought an iPad + downloaded a programme to assist with Blog entries - after all my previous problems, I am now sitting under the fan in my room dragging my photoshop - it's now easy peasy 1 2 3)!

 

From the Terrace of the Leper King at Angkor Thom

 

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