I can’t leave without putting to “paper” some impressions of this lovely country.

The people, as in Myanmar and other countries of Southeast Asia, are so gracious, kind and, at the same time, very hard working. (With the exception of the immigration officials!!) They are generous and faithful to their Buddhist beliefs, and without them, many of the beautiful pagodas and temples would not be as well kept up; nor would the monks be able to devote their time and/or life to study, prayer and teaching.

For the most part people lead a very simple life with simple amenities. Siem Reap itself has some lovely homes and also very simple abodes. The motor cycle rules and transports entire families, crates of eggs, school children – you name it! Cars, bicycles, tuk-tuks, pedestrians and motor bikes weave in and out and around one another in some sort of precise dance – it is quite fascinating.

And the food! Fruit-aholic that I am, I can completely OD here! The mangoes and papaya are both ripe (even though the real mango season is in April). I am also in love with their peanuts that are both salty and have some sugar added, along with dried lemon grass, kefir lime leaf, chili and garlic! They are the best. Of course, rice abounds and in all forms – sweet and sticky or plain steamed. The flavors are much like Thai food, but a little less spicy. I have tried the main traditional Khmer dishes – Amok, Lok-Lak and Khmer curry.

We experienced two amazing philanthropic enterprises here in Siem Reap: Phare, the Cambodian Circus, that I mentioned previously, and The HAVEN restaurant. Started by a young Swiss couple in 2011, after volunteering and working in a Cambodian orphanage and seeing the need for training for young adults who no longer qualify for placement in the orphanage. The idea to open a training restaurant was born. They returned to Switzerland and formed a non-profit – Dragonfly – A project for Cambodia’s youth – and returned to Siem Reap in 2011 to build the school and restaurant from scratch. Later a Swiss friend and a Cambodian chef joined the effort.

From their website : “In addition to the training it is also part of our concept to provide a safe haven for our trainees, hence the name. We accommodate our trainees in a house which is located in a close by neighbourhood of the restaurant. They live under the same roof with our house mum which creates a family like structure and ensures an integrated support service for the youths. Apart from housing the trainees HAVEN covers their entire expenses, such as rent, electricity, water and medical costs, food and clothing etc. Additionally they are paid a monthly salary, serving as their personal pocket money. We also provide the school materials and hire instructors for their education. The training programme is free of charge for the trainees. The costs of running the programme is subsidised through the restaurants income and donations through DRAGONFLY”

We were lucky enough to get a reservation at the Haven and it was an extraordinary meal and experience.

Let’s not forget the pampering! Massage parlors, reiki, foot rubs, the funny fish tanks where the little fish eat the dry skin from you feet – and so inexpensive. I had an amazing facial for $10; a pedicure for $7, and Dennis has had massages for less than $20. Prices in general are 25% to 50% of those at home.

Angkor Wat – A fascinating story and structure. Built in 37 years during the first  half of the 12th C, Angkor Wat was dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, the preserver of the world. Evidently, it was not used more than about three times a year by the royal family!

There are five towers (formerly the magic number 9, but four have crumbled) but when viewing, depending on the angle you see only three or four and only sometimes five. Like the Egyptians, Incans and all those brilliant people in our past, the sun rises directly behind the main tower on both equinoxes.

My favorite things in the entire temple are the beautiful dancing women (Apsaras) – thousands of them; and the galleries/colonnades (at least 50 meters long) with beautiful bas relief work depicting various stories. Heavens and hells: hell has 32 levels and heaven has 37.  Combat of Krishna and demons. The army of King Suryavarman II who built Angkor Wat – in this story his army is marching east to battle with the Chams. The churning of the sea to milk. The myth of the Churning was very popular in the Angkor era. It is depicted at temples in Angkor and all over Cambodia.

At the beginning of the world, the gods (devas) and demons (asuras) were engaged in a thousand year battle to secure amrita, an elixir that would render them immortal and incorruptible. After some time, when they became tired and still had not achieved their goal, they asked the help of Vishnu. He appeared and ordered to work together, not against each other. Working together, they then commenced the churning of the Ocean of Milk by using Mount Mandara as the pivot and the five-headed naga Vasuki as the rope.

However, the mountain suddenly began to sink. Vishnu incarnated as the tortoise Kurma to support the pivoting mountain on his back. Many gods also assisted, including Indra, by keeping the pivot in position. The spinning of Mount Mandara created such a violent whirlpool that the that the creatures and fish around it were torn to pieces,

The Ocean of Milk was churned another thousand years before producing the much-desired elixir and other treasures, amongst which are the goddess Lakshmi (Sri Devi) [the spouse of Vishnu] , the elephant Airavata, the horse Ucchaihsravas, a whishing tree (Parijata), and the apsara.

The naga Vasuki vomited floods of black venom due to his mishandling by teh devas and asuras during the churning. This would have been enough to poison everybody had it not been for Shiva, who drank it all; as a result, his mouth remaining stained forever with a black line.