Anchor What?

If you spend anytime on the online sailors forums you'll know of the volatility of discussions about boat anchors. Armchair sailors and experienced cruisers alike manage to go over the top for thousands of posts about the relative value of a style of one anchor over another. Often to the point of abject uncivil behavior. 

Well this post has nothing to do with anchors. It is about our trip to the ancient temples of Angkor Wat a few weeks ago (I believe Angkor Wat means Anchor What in the Khmer language). The post has a ton pictures, but you've probably got nothing else to do while in lock-down now that you've almost finished Netflix. We traveled to Siem Reap, the city next to the Wats, in the early coronovirus season which this year coincided with the dry season. This meant that there were very few visitors, no Chinese, Japanese or Korean tour buses and the 5-star hotel available for usd$195 for three days total. In retrospect we were probably pushing the coronovirus season with the exposure from airports and airplanes. Since we are well past our 14-day quarantine from being in Cambodia and Bangkok I'll share some temple pictures. 

Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world covering more than 400 acres. It dates back to the 12 century. Over its life it has been a Hindu and a Buddhist temple, sometimes simultaneously. 

There are a group Wats in the area, each built at slightly different times. The local kings typically built the temples to improve their standing with the populace and with a selected god. Think along the lines of a Trump Tower.

 The stones were put in place rough. Then the surfaces smoothed. In this picture you can see an unfinished outline of a decorative carving.

And a finished stone carving.

The smaller temples in the surrounding area are just as fascinating asAngkor.

The temples were placed in the heart of solid jungle. Moats were built around them and the near by river was used to transport quarry stone from far away.

Gotta have the required temple monkeys.

A tuk-tuk, the local transportation, heading along the road and through the old temple gate.

Smiling faces temple.

Elephant temple.

Young, probably early teenage or younger, monks hanging under the tree

The jungle hardwood trees just take over the temples. Sometimes they are removed during restoration, but not always, as the tree becomes a key structural part of the walls. In some attempted restorations the tree has been removed and the building has collapsed.

This is the inside walls of one the temple chambers. All those round marks in the wall would have been filled with glittering jewels and semi-precious stones before the treasure hunter, come looters, arrived. They would typically go into the abandoned temples and cut off the heads from the stone statutes to make them easier to transport for sale. They would smash open the rectangular platforms that the shrines were mounted on, sometimes using dynamite, to look for jewels inside.

Tomb raiders of the Wats.

On the entryway walks to the temples you often here music being played under a canopy. The musicians are all disabled, some blind, most with missing limbs. These are the results of landmines. Estimates as high as 10 million landmines having been placed in Cambodia during the civil war in the 1970's and '80s has left Cambodia with the highest amputee population in the world. The musician on the right is thanking Chris for leaving a donation with the traditional hands clasp namiste.

Another smiling god in the temple gate.

A Khmer girl getting her wedding pictures taken by the temple.

The kids would take one look at Chris and know they had a mark. It was probably a good 3 dollar investment.

Trees growing into the moat. 

A small column with a missing figure, either removed by looters for sale or it was a Buddha head that was removed during a period that the temples were primarily Hindu. There is a lot of interaction between Hinduism and Buddhism, with the temples often being repurposed back and forth over the centuries.

A water buffalo taking a little time off work.

We took a boat trip to the floating city of Chong Kneas. Which is on a lake that is part of the Tanle Sap River (at least as best as I can tell). River levels change over 30ft over the year, with the floating city residents moving their floating houses to the new shallows as depths change. Note the propeller on the river boat above. The whole mechanism raises and lowers to get through the shallows.

  

Pretty select steering wheel and old truck transmission in the river boat.

Leaving the front deck of their floating house to go to work.

Checking in with the neighbors.

This is the hardware store for the village.

And the lumber store and restaurant with a couple of Vietnamese kids playing in half, plastic barrels. The Vietnamese have been here on this Cambodian lake for many decades, some as war refugees. There was also a mother in a canoe with a young daughter in the bow. The girl had a large python wrapped around her body and neck. She was tightly holding onto the snakes neck with her left hand. Both the girl and the snake had a less than happy expression on their faces. The mother wanted a dollar for a picture, but I just didn't feel right about contributing to the snake and child abuse.

Crocs waiting to be turned into handbags.

This is a modern day Buddhist monastery, a wat. These are the primary teaching places for monks. They also act as a sort of orphanage, where young men can enter and begin studying to become monks. Note the key architectural features. It is built on very long stilts so it can function in both the low and high water seasons. Even more important it is located right next to the cell tower for good 4G connectivity.

We didn't just stay in our hotel in the off temple touring time. So we had the valet call us a Tuk Tuk. Tuk Tuks are dominate local transportation. We loaded up and headed into town for dinner.

Tuk Tuks are not only good for transportation, they make a good advertising platform too. The locals would address me as Papa - supposedly a sign of respect.

The view into town on the Tuk Tuk.

And the restaurant section where you get a couple of cold beers and two main meals for usd$8.

Early morning view out of he hotel room in a typical SE Asian haze

Paul