Angkor & Back to School

Angkor Thom means “big city”. It is not a temple, but where people lived. Bayon Temple inside the gate had 54 towers with only 39 left. It only took 5 years to build this temple. We were a bit distracted from Bayon Temple by the trimming of trees with scaffolding. It was a tall job getting those trees trimmed.

We jumped back on the bus to go through the Victory gate to the Ta Prohm Temple. This is where Tomb Raider was filmed. It had amazing trees that were 300-400 years old growing right through the middle of the stone temple. These Spung trees or Kapok trees, leaf out during the rainy season, so right now they look dead. Angkor was abandoned from the 16th – 19th century. In 1860 a Frenchman named, Henri Mouhot found the ruins covered up by the jungle. It became a UNESCO sight in 1992.

Homestay Volunteer Teachers Organization enriches the public education for rural Cambodians. They teach English and computer skills to give these rural students a chance at getting university degrees and employment. The students were so proud to show off their school. Sim, our Viking tour guide founded the school and works to make lives better for students in his home town. My guides each wanted to show off their english skills by reading to me from a book they chose in the library.