Churning of the Ocean of Milk
Thailand:Bangkok:www.newsiam.net
The last leg of cambodian dirt highway insanity was completed today, begun at 6am, zombieland, and these roads are the worst of all of cambodia, we head northbound for Poipet, on a road that just 3 years ago wasn’t very safe at all, terrorized by khmer rouge, rice farmer ninjas in black pajamas and tire-tread sandals, armed with ak-47’s…
2hr border layover paperwork, visa, then switch to nicer minivans for 4hr bus to bangkok. nice to be back in thailand, never thought i would appreciate proper “roads” so much.
The four days spent in siem reap were excruciatingly active, up early for marathon motorbike tours of Angkor, starting with Angkor Thom, which was the administrative center, highlights being the 200 smugly smiling bodhisattva faces of Bayon. The next day we did some more obscure temples on the periphery, but Ta Prohm was the highlight, this is an unrestored sight with fig and banyan trees growing over and through everything, sandstone in suspended centuries long tumble everywhere, and it was starting to rain while these freaky birds sung harrowing ballads high up in the trees. Then lastly but not leastly was Angkor Wat itself, which they don’t know if it was actually a tomb or place of worship or both, the entrance faces the west, while all others face the east. Bas-reliefs abound the outer and inner walls, most notable being the “Churning of the Ocean of Milk”, where all these gods and demons try to churn this elixir out of an ocean of milk, that will supposedly give immortality. They finally get it as Vishnu pulls through, reincarnating himself as a tortoise to help, and the gods and demons work together to get this good stuff, amrita…strange stuff that hindu folklore. Watched the sunset with monks and tourists alike, Angkor is an active place of worship after all, and was back to see the sunrise the next morning at 6am, before heading out to Bantrey Srei, via a road that just a few years ago wasn’t too safe, Kuak, my motorbike driver, lost his brother and sister on the road, shot by Khmer Rouge, and 5 americans were shot as well in 1995. Then we hit the waterfall which has hindu carvings in the actual rock of the river bed.
Last night culminating in a trip to “Happy Herb Pizza” where you can order, well, pizza that makes you feel very happy. I ended up being happy to the point of waking up happy, and was actually happy well into that day. A wise investment this pizza…