Dinner at Loy Residence, Visit to Angkor Wat, and Fish Massage

August 23, 2009. This morning we will attend church here in Siem Reap from 8 to 11. Chetana will be teaching the Sunday School lesson and then she will be translating the Relief Society lesson for Sister Baird and for me.

Chetana is from Ben's "family" in Siem Reap, she speaks excellent English, and I was impressed when I met her last night at how articulate she is. She not only teaches Sunday School, but she is the secretary for Relief Society and also the Institute teacher (although those students are on break until October). Bunseak, Chetana's father, is the branch president in Siem Reap.

Ben's Cambodian "mother" Sophany is a marvel. She gave Ben, Elder Baird, and Daniel cobalt blue ties she had sewn for them and she also gave Elder Baird's dad and Don home-made green and black checkered ties. Chetana gave Sister Baird and me some dehydrated mango she had made (not from an electric dehydrator, but dehydrated in the sun). The dinner at the Loy home was the best of our trip (special request by Ben, I later learned)--rice with a stew of beef, potatoes, and onions; beef with fresh green beans; baked fish; and a rice pudding with ice in it for dessert. We were also served fanta, sprite, and cola on ice (the good ice, David Baird pointed out to me, that is cylindrical with a hole in the center and made from purified water--the crushed ice is from a large block and is cut with a knife and not so reliable on sanitation).

The conversations of the evening were uplifting and full of laughter. Ben, Daniel, and Elder Baird sat in a circle on the floor with some of the family's children. When we stood up to take pictures and prepare to leave, Ben said, "My cheeks hurt from laughing so much." Daniel said his cheeks hurt, too, from sitting on the floor so long. :) Sophany did provide the visiting Americans with floor pillows she had sewn, which were very comfy.

Our day yesterday was spent at Angkor Wat. We visited three of a hundred wats (temples) before even getting to the largest 12th-century palatial wat. Each visit had unique features. Ben suggested we "work up a sweat" (what? we were always sweating, just being outdoors). We climbed some steep, narrow steps to the top of a wat that had no carvings on the stones. It was struck by lightening early in its construction, the stone is brittle and broke easily, pus the main architect of the project died . . . so the carving part of construction was abandoned. Still, the structure is magnificent and provided us a mountaintop-like view from the top.

All four of us rode elephants for about 30 minutes around another temple site. Don's and my "driver" entertained us with some music he made by blowing/humming through a piece of banana leaf.

The Angkor Wat temple is about a quarter mile walk just to work your way to and across the bridge that crosses and moat along the stone pathway leading to the entrance. Then, we spent about 45 minutes examining just the first wall, with intricate carvings depicting history--people, animals, Gods, wars, angels--five layers high of detailed stone storybook. Another wall depicted the creation and the struggle between good and evil, a tug-of-war of angels and demons. We could have spent several days at Angkor Wat alone; I was surprised at the magnitude of the grounds and cities in the surrounding woods, beautiful and magnificent even today. Many of the temple walls have been robbed of their diamonds that Ben explained used to catch the sunlight and reflect to light up the rooms. We also saw the location where the movie Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie was filmed. Of great interest are the trees that grow with long, engulfing roots on the temple walls and spires. They remind me of some of the entrances I imagine from The Hobbit. Many photo op locations.

Each day we experience such wonders here that it's hard to take it all in, much less describe. After dinner last night, the Bairds and the Parkers stopped by the night market and enjoyed, giggled, and laughed over a fish massage. Seriously! You put your feet into a tank and hundreds of tiny fish (from Turkey) nip at your feet and toes. And tickle?!? Yes indeed. Check out the video (oops--too big for this post).