This trip seems to be getting better and better (hopefully its not just front loaded). I said in my last message that I would tell all about the Cambodian wedding that I attended, so I'll start with that. The wedding was for an employee of our Host Partner, Bridges Across Borders Cambodia. After getting prepared for the wedding in the nicest attire that we brought, we headed out by touk-touk to the wedding. I was a little confused when we turned into an alley and I could hear voices and music playing, but as it turns out, that's where Cambodians host their weddings! Right in the alley way with their neighbours all around! The whole alley was decorated with pictures of the couple and there was a big sign above the entrance with 2 huge swans painted on it; it reminded me of decorations from the 70's. The concept of romance here is strange for me, it seems very cliche and even corny. I think this is because most marriages in the past were arranged and now that Cambodians are able to marry for love it seems like they just want to go all out for their weddings. The actual dinner and dancing was really a tonne of fun. We all had to learn the appropriate way to dance according to Khmer culture. All of the people at the wedding were really inviting and took turns teaching us how to dance. Some of the men even asked us Canadian girls to dance and told us that we were good. The entire evening was an incredible experience that I don't think I will ever get to take part of again. There are so many more details to add, but I can tell you all when I am home.
After the wedding, we packed up and left for the city of Siem Reap where the huge and beautiful temple of Angkor Wat is situated. We bought 3 day passes for the temple and the surrounding temples to be able to explore at our own pace. The place is massive! It was really awesome when I got a chance to sit down on some of the rock with my journal and get to just reflect and write about everything that I was seeing. The temples are made of huge stones with intricate carvings all over. It was a great place to be able to let your imagination wander, thinking of the times when it was all being built and the amount of energy that went into it. I loved one of the temples with the big faces carved into the rocks. I will show pictures when I get home as I've not no way to upload any at this point, but what I can do is tell you that the energy of the place was just so peaceful and though weird to say, you could actually feel the history there especially when I traced my fingers around some of the carvings. I just imagined how many people walked in or touched the exact same pieces of rock as me some thousand years ago. Incredible!
Also, I ate from a street vendor today... start your prayers. Haha.
love, the travelling gypsy
Maggie B
DWC Student Participant
Cambodia, May 2012
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