Cambodia 2020 - 14. Wat Preah Prom Rath Pagoda

14. Wat Preah Prom Rath Pagoda

Entrance to Pagoda (Place Where Monks Live, Work)

Around the year AD 1500 there was a man:  a Monk, Preah Ang Chang-Han Hoy they named him. I will just call him the Monk.  The story is told like this:

Monk with Freshly Cooked Rice and Seated Buddha

 In 1900 BE or in 1500 AD, a
 colossal statue of reclining Buddha was built and placed inside the main temple of Wat Preah Prohm Rath. What caused our then Buddhists to build the statue was told in a story that said in the year 1500 AD, there was a Buddhist monk who always traveled by boat to ask for food at Long Vek, the ancient capital of Cambodia, which is situated near the current capital city of Phnom Penh. It is a long way from Siem Reap to the ancient capital. But whenever he returned from Long Vek, the rice in his pot was still freshly cooked and so people nicknamed him Preah Ang Chong Han Hoy, which means “monk with freshly cooked rice in his pot.”

Ornate Replica of the Monk's Boat

One day, while he was traveling in his boat, some sharks attacked the boat and the boat broke into two pieces. Instead of sinking into the lake, one piece of the boat floated to Wat Boribo in Kompong Chang Province. The Buddhists there built a standing statue. The other piece, the prow part, brought him back here safely. It was going with such great speed that the water could not flow into it. Because of this wonderful event, our Buddhists decided to build a statue of a reclining Buddha made of the wooden piece of the boat which has been kept in the Preah Vihear Building for over half a millennium.

The Sleeping Buddha, Built From the Prow of the Monk's Boat

From the wood of the prow of this boat in above story, a sleeping Buddha was carved and this statue resides now in the Temple we are visiting here. This Wat, this Preah Prom Rath Pagoda contains this sleeping Buddha.

Entrance to the Temple

I walked around slowly, mostly in bare feet because this is a holy place and by local custom, shoes must be removed. 500+ years this Buddha has been sleeping here. The walls surrounding where he sleeps are decorated in 3 dimensional murals, telling stories of the Buddha’s life.

Shoeless to Visit a Holy Place

An abundance of Shrines or Spirit Houses are in the outer courtyard before the entrance to the main hall. Even a replica of the boat is shown. Small Spirit Houses had offerings of food, flowers and candles or smelling sticks. Statues and Idols are shown to make the above story understandable even for people who cannot read.

Spirit Houses

This Wat is an active place of worship, where monks and nuns still live and teach. A religious school, at a university level, is attached to the temple.

People around treat this Wat with deference and prayer.

The Story of the Life of Buddha Is Told Along the 4 Walls Around the Temple

It is because of this Sleeping Buddha Statue that this Wat is a special place to visit. A special place for Buddhists to revere and to see for themselves, that the story above is true.

You just have to believe, you just have to have faith.

Cambodia 2020 - 13. Lazy Lounging is a way of life here

13.  Lazy Lounging is a way of life here.

Cushions and Umbrellas Have Been Replaced

There is something to be learned wherever I go; Even if I have to learn to do nothing. I don’t know if it is the heat, but we took a few days to just lounge, swim in the pool and put our feet up and do nothing.

A lot of tuk-tuk drivers have a way of sleeping between trips, stretching a hammock diagonally across their cart and just taking a nap. Or they just stare into space, waiting for a ride. It’s not that they are lazy, but

Only 2 Feet of the Sleeper Are Visible

it’s a way of waiting for customers. I saw the same with people on the side of the road, many have a hammock stretched between trees and just swing in the hammock… waiting.

I am not sure if some people live like this, just a tuk-tuk and a hammock, no house needed. I saw a few who were fast asleep during daylight, do they work night shifts?

Sometimes the Hammocks Were Filled with Sleeping People

 I made it a point to explore the hotel a bit more, climbed to the roof to see what is around the neighborhood.

Looking around, even though we are on the outskirts of Siem Reap, it’s evidently densely populated. The house across the street was for rent, so I asked Phalla, Chanda’s wife, how much it would rent for. She did not know but said it would be expensive. We started to just talk.

House Across From Hotel at Top of Picture

Housing in Siem Reap is not so cheap. She showed me a picture of her house, a 2 story, modern, European kind of place that she said they paid $ 200 thousand dollars for. It’s a newer house, maybe 5 years old?  They are still paying off the mortgage; monthly, it is a drain on their income of course, but I told her we all had to do that.

Price of Lots in US Dollars

Housing in the countryside is much, much cheaper. But there is no running water in some areas in the country side.  ‘Maybe’ there is electricity for the well or a pump, but electricity is expensive, too. Electric is fairly new to the very rural Cambodia.

The housing I saw in the country side while riding in a tuk-tuk was very basic. Most were built on stilts and had just one large room, divided into living spaces. Traditionally, Cambodians like sleeping together. They do everything together as a family, cooking and eating all in one space. Privacy is not the same as in the West. 

Only 3 Out of 5 Meters Hooked Up

One takes off one’s shoes before entering the house. The rooms I peeked into were very clean, almost empty of furniture; stuff was neatly placed along the walls or arranged in groups of use. The ‘kitchen’ was part of this one room; but all huddled together were the sink, stove, and fridge, etc.

Everybody of course is dreaming of a western place, like Chanda and Phalla have now. They are the envy of their family.

Country House Likely for the 3 Families on the Meter Above

Family is a big thing in Cambodia. Their whole way of living is family. Ideally, everybody wants to live on the same street, the same neighborhood, for sure. Cambodians like to be close to each other. The neighborhood is important, too.

Most people in Cambodia are under 30 years old – A result of the Khmer Rouge?

Open Concept With Kitchen Separate But in Same Room

I did not see that many ‘old’ people during my month long visit. Cambodia still lives with the aftermath of Khmer Rouge, if not physically, for sure they live it emotionally.

The shock felt between 1970 and 1993 still has small tremors here and there; emotional tremors that bring back memories to the older folks.

Chilling Facts

Really, only since 1999 has there been ‘peace’ in Cambodia.

In 2014 a UN court found 2 head guys of the Khmer Rouge guilty and sentenced them to prison for life. 

Ah, when I sit and do ‘nothing’ my mind spins like that, my thinking goes from doing nothing to housing, to older people, to Khmer Rouge.

But it’s interesting stuff, right?

Pol Pot Died In Prison