You know your blessed and lucky when you do things you never thought you would do. This adventure in Thailand is one of those things.
I never thought I would visit Thailand, share the Thai culture with a generous family, wonderful teachers and amazing students. It is definitely changing me, and I am truly thankful for that.
You know what I never expected to do while being in Thailand ? Visit one of the most famous temple in the world in Cambodia !
The week-end started with a visit of the famous lake Tonle Sap. Tonle Sap Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. It's famous for its fascinating local communities and their floating villages. Located in Siem Reap, the massive lake is 250 km in length and 100 km across at its widest point, it is impossible to see the opposite shore from ground level.
The next stop was at Phnom Bakheng temple to watch the sunset as its hilltop location offers spectacular views of the surrounding countryside. (The colors are real, how beautiful is that ?)
On Sunday morning, the alarm clock rang at 4.00 AM to meet with one of the most magical view : the Sunrise at Angkor Wat temple.
The sky was so clear that I could see the stars and the moon reflecting in the water, it was perfect!
Angkor Wat is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1992. It was built during the 12th century to worship the Lord Vishnu (a Hindu deity). Today, you can still see 5 lotus-like towers that stand 65 meters tall and 2,000 stone carvings of Apsaras (celestial dancers).
Later that day, we visited 3 more temples.
Prasat Banteay Srei is a 10th-century Hindu temple. It is locally known as the citadel of the women. If I remember well, this is due to its miniature scale, the pink colour of the limestone, and the elaborate decorative carvings of many devatas (minor female deities) on its walls.
Ba Yon Temple features approximately 50 stone towers carved with the 4 faces of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara on most of them. Featuring a serene expression, each of the faces measuring 4 meters in height and oriented toward the 4 cardinal points. Without the tourists, it would be a quite sereine place.
Ta Prohm Temple gained international recognition after it was featured in the video game-inspired movie Tomb Raider. The ruins of Ta Prohm Temple are now enveloped by huge trees and hanging vines. It is by far, my favorite temple in Cambodia. I love to see nature taking back its rights.
Cambodia's temple where quite beautiful and impressive. However, the temperature there was hotter than in Thailand so difficult to bear. I was happy to go back home, in Thailand.
I have no better idea to finish this article than using this cat picture from Angkor Thom (the last capital city of the Angkorian era). I called her Bagheera.
(Picture credit : Katrien, Fund Isaan volunteer)
Thank you for reading me, bye.