New Years at Angkor Wat

For Cambodians, Angkor Wat is much more than a historical structure. It represents national pride, spiritual haven, and cultural center point. Which is why the entrance fee is $20 for tourists but entirely free to Cambodians. All throughout the year Cambodians come to visit this colossal structure as a pilgramage but no other time would they visit more than during new years. It's good luck plus there's many events going on throughout the entire grounds of the Angkor Wat landscape. 

My colleague's friend Thanney suggested that we go see the events during this grand festivity and we bravely venture out in our bicycles to the grounds. We wondered why Thanney suggested we take bicycles when we had enough motorcycles. But sure enough the place was jam packed with cars and motorbikes, resulting in a huge congestion. We weaved our way through in the front of the Angkor Wat were crowds of people enjoying picnics, playing traditional new years games, and dancing. 

Since we were just staying outside of the temple, the guards permit us in to stay given that we will not enter into the buildings. 

Hoards of buses, cars, motorbike on the way to Angkor Wat

Traditional game playing time

Cambodian boxing

Traditional peacock dancing

picnic time!

procession

TONS of delicious vendors

Last views of Angkor Wat before leaving

It was amazing to see this many locals in one place and at the same time it really makes you realize how special Angkor Wat is and what it means to them.

This also happened to be my last day in Cambodia so what a way to finish up this great journey! Now time to get ready to pack up.

Field Trip

Going to Angkor Wat is always special but it makes it even more special when you’re going there with 20+ local kids. How I became a chaperone for a school field trip was all by coincidence. My coworker Carena also teaches English at a village school about 5km away from Siem Reap as part of a project with my other coworker Kathryn. One day I decided to do a class visit; as an English instructor for the Sewing School myself, it’s always good to see how other teachers conduct their lessons especially someone like me who has minimal teaching experience. While I was visiting the schools the coordinator of the school, Sun also happen to come by. After quick introductions, being the Cambodian that he is,  popped the question if I wanted to come along to Angkor Wat with the children. Sun, whose actual job is a tour guide, wanted to invite the students to a tour of the Angkor Wat as a treat before the term end and Khmer New Years. This was especialy a special treat for the children because most of them have never been to Angkor Wat before.

Albeit let’s admit it, the kids were actually happy to be away from the village rather than being at Angkor Wat. Many children rarely get out of the village, letalone a worldly tourist site. Sun, being in the business had arranged all the drivers and lunch for the students and chaperones which made getting around easier. Still, with the number of children (30+) and the blazing heat, it was quite tiring.

After going around a few temples, we were ready for a cool down. Must of the afternoon was spent splashing around by the watermill which is a local favorite spot –there’s absolutely no indication in tour books so sorry I can’t point out where it is!

I was wiped out after a few hours and ended up leaving early with Kathryn but in hindsight what a special occasion that was. I am sure it was a memorable occasion for many of the kids as well and I’m very I was able to a part of that. 

Rewind: Angkor Half Marathon Dec. 1, 2013

I think I left off my posts the day before the Angkor Half Marathon  so let me pick up the story from there again. (This post is going to be more or less a race report so just scroll down just to see the pictures if you're not interested ;)) 

The race itself was fantastic. There's nothing more magical than seeing and running through historical monumental establishments and edifices. Another great feature was that everyone living in surrounding villages  came out to watch.  Many were running along with us and cheering for us. It was a great festival for them as well, especially for the kids who were high-fiving all the runners. The race was also in conjunction with the wheelchair race so I saw a few runners help to push and motivate the wheelchair racers which was also a nice interaction to see.

There were of course a few major issues that the race itself needs to work on! 1) few of the porto potties broke and let's say things were overflowing. That was not a nice sight to see before the race 2) There are no visible restrooms along the course 3) They actually started the race EARLY. This was a first considering most races get delayed due to logistics. I believe there was an announcement but it wasn't made very clearly and many racers were still waiting in line for the restrooms when it started or were simply confused about what was happening. There was no time to panic. I had to be sangfroid and rushed myself and my coworker over to the starting line immediately. Thankfully, we had microchips so the race was calculated whenever we stepped over the start line. Nevertheless, I had to do a lot of catching up to the other runners since I started about 3 minutes late than the other runners. In the beginning I was stemmed by a raft of slower runners which I am still a bit bitter about!

Nevertheless the course itself was nice as it was almost entirely flat. The forest, temples, and monuments created a nice shade for most of the course which was a blessing as the sun factor is quite big in Cambodian weather.  I'm glad my coworker and I trained in the searing local weather since it prepared us so much for race day itself. The temperature was actually only. about 20-25 degrees which is chilly in Cambodian standards. Nevertheless as many of the runners overwhelmingly came from colder climates, it seemed like they were struggling in the warmer weather. I wished I had a long sleeve running under the tree-shaded areas yet I saw many runners sweating profusely which was a surprise!
 
The runners themselves equally galvanized me during the race. Since the race was sponsored by Japanese organizations, needless to say there were many Japanese runner tour groups that arrived to participate in the race. Being the tech-savvy and running crazy Japanese people as they are, many were in professional high tech running attire and running with their latest DSLR models around their necks as well. Mind you, I was running quite fast but these runners ran along with me, stopped every half mile or so to take photos for a few seconds, and then start sprinting again. It was an amazing simultaneous running/photo taking session. It also made me embarrassed as a fellow Japanese person for not taking any pictures during the race!

Results: 1:41:27 
I'm a bit sad I couldn't go under 1:40 but not bad considering I started the race 3 minutes late, had a stomach ache most of the race, and couldn't adequately train in the best environment!

Rather I'm proud of myself I got through my training as best as possible all while juggling my job, studying for the GRE and Khmer, and adjusting myself to a totally new country. I was demur at first whether to participate in such a big race but I'm so glad I did. Also as the race benefits disabled people from land mines, it was a good way to give back to a great cause. It's especially important since about 5% of the population is said to be affected by landmines. Moreover, it was a sentimental climax to end my first session in Cambodia which I have grew very fond of in the last 3 months!