Tropical Storm Tour: Cambodia Part 6
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Siem Reap, Cambodia
The writing is on the wall at Wat Preah An Kau Saa in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
A Buddhist monk brushes up on a lesson before giving a sermon at Wat Preah An Kau Saa in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
A beautiful carving on the gate to Wat Po Lanka in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
An afternoon Buddhist prayer service at Wat Preah An Kau Saa in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
I headed north of town today to check out two or three temples I spotted on a map. At the first one, Wat Preah An Kau Saa, I was surprised to see three or four white foreigners at such an obscure, out of the way temple. One of them was a really old man who was actually a Buddhist monk complete with a bald head, red robes and his arms covered with tattoos. I didn’t get a close enough look to see if his tattoos had anything to do with Buddhism. The other male foreigner was younger with a shaved head and a really long ZZ Top beard, which is a somewhat unusual combo. There was also a young foreign woman who was snapping photos and chatting with the local monks. As soon as the prayer service got underway, a woman with really short hair smiled and motioned for me to sit inside, which I did–off to the side to a avoid the monks’ area in the center. Surprisingly, the sermon was given by two monks–one in Cambodian and one in English.
A side gate bathed in orange dirt at Wat Preah An Kau Saa in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
A Cambodian version of the tuk-tuk in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
A bridge over troubled waters in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
A Buddha image at Wat Preah An Kau Sai in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
After a while, it seemed to get repetitive, so I left to go to the next temple, Wat Preah An Kau Sai. On the way, I encountered some percussion music that was emanating very loudly from somewhere across the Siem Reap River. I crossed a bridge and walked up to the source of the sound, which was some kind of dinner party. An old man asked me what I wanted and I said the music had attracted me. I asked if it was live or Memorex. He said the event was a funeral for his wife and that the music was recorded. It all all started to make sense, as the music sounded really somber. I forgot to bring my iPod touch to record with, so I shot some long video clips out front to capture some of the blaring, distorted sound.
A great big lump of holy dirt at Wat Preah An Kau Sai in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
All framed up at Wat Preah An Kau Sai in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
A spirit house and a Buddhist shrine at Wat Preah An Kau Sai in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
A super thick veggie burger, a few French fries and a tiny salad at the Peace Cafe in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
After I had my fill of that, I crossed back over the bridge and straight into Wat Preah An Kau Sai, where I encountered a veritable Buddhist wonderland. Amidst all of the Buddha images, temples, shrines and spirit houses, I also walked around a few of the monasteries situated among a series of dirt reservoirs that, unfortunately, had heaps of trash dumped in them. I wonder why some monks clean up their compounds, but others don’t? I heard some different mournful music featuring intense singing playing in the back, where I spied another funeral ceremony going on. As I continued to walk around the grounds, the sound from both funerals overlapped and blended together to form an amazing, deeply ambient field of pure musical magic. I finished out the night just down the road at the Peace Cafe, where I enjoyed a super thick, tall veggie burger with a tiny order of French fries and an equally diminutive salad. On the bright side, that means I consumed fewer calories.
Words and photos ©2015 Arcane Candy.
geez the veggie burger and fries look like something off the menu at Pauls in Oceanside.