culture shock

[images to be added at a later date when we can find higher speed Internet]

Thursday was a day filled with adventure, culture shock, and more beauty of this country. We awoke quite early, ate breakfast, and headed out before 8am with Boo and E to see more temples, Phnom Kulen, and complete some shopping.


The one thing I left out of the previous post was was the level of poverty throughout. Yes, this is a 3rd world country, but I guess even though you read about it, see pictures, and hear stories...you never can fully understand it until you experience it. This has been one of the greatest experiences I have had to date. It has opened my eyes to something outside of my little world. It has allowed me to appreciate the opportunities that have been granted to me. We had so many children , as young as 2 years old, begging while dirty from head to toe, there were tons of poor starving puppies roaming everywhere, huts throughout that make up the villages where the men and women work their farm to maintain their living.... if the child is lucky enough to not have to work the farm, then they are able to attend the village school which takes place from 7a-11a. School is a privilege here...meaning, that child is walking, riding a bike or moped to reach their education.


I must add, also, that there are no rules of the road. There are no stop lights, stop signs that are not followed, and no speed limit. The road is really a free for all... survival of the fittest. I have seen ox/ cows pulling wagons, mopeds, bicycles, cars, and farm equipment going every which direction. There are pick up trucks stacked with crops, people, and animals. There are vans crammed with individuals inside and on the top. The mopeds carry a family of 4 with an infant riding on the lap of their mother. Some roads are paved, but the majority I have ridden on thus far have been dirt only. At times, I thought we were playing a game of chicken, but it is merely the way the road system works...honking, flashing of headlights, and prayer.


Now let me tell you a little about our day! We started off by going to view more of the temples. Then headed to Phnom Kulen. We drove up this mountain which took a little over half an hour. Upon reaching the top, we parked and began our hike even further around the mountain. We were able to hike to the largest Buddha which required us to remove our shoes and climb the many more stairs. An interesting fact about this mountain is that it was once under water! To see the size of the mountain and stone and hear the history is just beyond belief. I must tell you, this is true because while hiking through you will stumble upon many seashells!


Many hours were spent hiking the mountain and we then hiked to a different spot where we spotted the most breathtaking waterfall. The most wonderful thing about this journey is that it is not touristy at all. This mountain is not known to the tourists, in fact it is known as a sacred area in which no one is allowed to lie. There are many areas to pray with the monks and Buddha's. There are many who travel from Thailand to pray on this sacred mountain.


Another interesting fact is that upon driving up this mountain you will see random areas in which soldiers live in their man made hut. This is their way of protecting the land so it is not stolen from any other bordering country (Thailand, Vietnam, Laos).


This mountain is so sacred and blessed, that many of the visitors are from Thailand. They come to pray and rub the Buddha for good luck.


We concluded our day by visiting a few more temples. One which was used for the fighting of elephants and had a mythical story associated with it. There was a giant creature/human who had 12 daughters in which he built 12 temples in their honor. Ironically, the story ends with him eating all 12...hmmm....


See you again sooooon!!! (I promise to write about today soon!)