I have been throughout SE Asia and from what I saw here during my recent trip in January this year, the Cambodians have got it right in every way. All the taxi drivers, hotel and restaurant people all work together to make the place the growing success it has been. In fact it has seen a 75% increase in visitor numbers over 2008, and just this has increased pressure to build a bigger airport to cater for larger aircraft as it is restricted to A320/B737 types currently.
Angkor Wat will become the biggest thing in SE Asia before too long and makes inland places I have visited in the past such as Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son or Ayyuthaya in Thailand, or Vientienne in Laos seem boring and a waste of time in comparison. Siem Reap is safe to travel around in (unlike Phnom Penh that you do not need to go to get to Angkor) where the locals and police understand they cannot afford to have crime against foreigners and tourists.
The best time to visit is during the dry season (December to end of March) where it is cooler (still hot when the sun shines as you are climbing/walking around the temples) and no rain fall. It is mandatory to employ the services of a guide/taxi driver who will have a set itinerary to take you around. I chose a Tuk-Tuk (small 4 seat trailer pulled by scooter) for the 2 of us. Total fun!! And for US$20 a day. I used the services of the below guides.
http://www.angkor-wat-tours.com/
I spoke to other tourists who have visited the Pyramids in Egypt and they all stated Angkor Wat was a better place to visit as you are surrounded by lush forest as opposed to bare deserts and you can go right into the ancient temples where you cannot go into or onto the Pyramids or inside the passages under the Sphynx.
One of my interests is in Creation Science and I will concentrate on outlining the many messages throughout Angkor Wat that give clues about this. (rather than focus on the touristy stuff)
Throughout my research Dr Paul Laviolette has really opened up my mind about the truth concerning how our galaxy (and all others) have been created.
http://www.etheric.com/LaViolette/LaViolette.html I have read most of his publications and rank them the best amongst Astrotheology/Astrophysics literature out there. “Genesis of the Cosmos” finally debunked the old Big Bang and Black Hole theory that has been pushed by Kabbalistic Christian based astronomers such as the late Dr Carl Sagan and Dr Stephen Hawkings and discusses how it all came about. “God” is actually the physics, chemistry, and natural mathematical laws of the Universe, such as the Golden Mean or Golden Ratio that influences everything from the shape of the muscles in our heart, the spiral arms of a galaxy to the swirls of a pine cone or sunflower.
http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/EMT668/EMAT6 ... olden.html
So rather than an old guy with a long beard sitting on a cloud or a “burning bush” God is the overall Creator Spirit and natural law that is all around us. The theory of Evolution or Darwinism is vastly different and is about Natural Selection, “survival of the fittest” that discusses the progress of certain living organic entities throughout the ages,
Angkor Wat has a mixture of both Hindu and Buddhist temples as during the period from 750AD and 1350AD various rulers of the region were either of these religions depending on who won the wars of the time. Both of these religions (or philosophies of life as they are more correctly labelled) promote the creation science theory of the first sub atomic particle (as Dr Laviolette states) that was formed out of the transmutational ether in the more fertile area of space out in the universe. Many of these clues are throughout Angor Wat Park.
The Hindu’s believe that the Universe was a total empty space 150 Trillion years ago void of matter and energy. (How do they know this? Dr Laviolette believes its founders were possibly told by higher advanced entities long ago) It possibly took this incredibly long time for our own massive Galaxy that our solar system is home to to be the size it is not the 10-15 Billion year age some claim. Our own solar system is some 6,800 light years from the Galactic centre stuck out on the extremities of one of the spiral arms so our Sun has travelled a heck of long way from the central mother star that gave it its energy and matter. Genesis of the Cosmos describes the process this took (very heavy reading I must say but worth it if you want to become enlightened) and how this enormous Mother Star is at the centre of our Galaxy tens of millions of times our own solar mass that actually creates and continuously spews out matter and energy eventually forming into new star systems, not a Black Hole that absorbs matter, but cannot be seen due to the very thick (light years wide) cloud of cosmic dust surrounding it.
Dr Laviolette discusses the secret chambers under the Sphinx (that are closed to the public) comprising of rooms & tunnels with frescoes up on the wall detailing the creation cycle of the sub atomic particle from where everything else builds from. The Zodiac and Tarot cards are based on these frescoes that give clues (in non scientific form) how it came about in which Laviolette discusses in detail. The top Freemasons and some other “cults” (Thule, Vril) know of these creation facts. Many of these clues are in the sculptures and artwork in their “Lodges”.
Unfortunately the Archaeologists and guides who work at Angkor Wat are not physicists or Astronomers and simply describe to visitors what many of the frescoes and murals are from a mythological/religious point of view.
For example one of the prominent creation science murals that is mostly in the form of carvings along some of the galleries in the temples is the “Churning of the Sea of Milk” that is a Hindu creation legend. Most Hindu’s of course (including visitors) have absolutely no idea what it all means and the guides simply tell it as it is, “The naga (Cosmic Serpent) Vasuki is pulled on the right by asura’s (demons) and on the left by gods, the latter exerted by Hanuman at the tail. Vishnu, 4-armed, oversees the churning at the centre, where Mount Mandara is shown as a column, resting on the back of the turtle avatar of Vishnu. Below a row of fish indicates the ocean, with another representation of the naga. Indra can be seen in the sky above, with flying apsara’s (Celestial dancers) and birds. The sun and moon are seen as discs, and a flask for the amrita. Further left is an army of asuras, their leader in a chariot drawn by lions; above them a god rides a bird”. (1)
The Churning of the Sea of Milk illustrates in picture form using Hindu entities the science behind the creation of sub atomic particles out of the ether. The Amrita is the matter & energy, called the Elixir of Life, that gods and demons are fighting over created by the churning process. The use of gods (good guys) and demons (bad guys) defines the “order out of chaos” theory in evolutionary and creative processes where matter is sometimes created under violent and extreme explosive conditions (as in the centre of any galaxy). The animals and celestial bodies portrayed in the mural illustrate the end result of the creation process, albeit after trillions of years from the first drop of amrita in that particular point is space. Due to the vast distances between galaxies these fertile areas of ether are few and far between.
This illustration also takes pride of place in Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport where everyone who enters into the main departures terminal walks bang into it. Are the developers/owners of the airport much more enlightened and know more than what meets the eye.
Throughout Angkor Wat’s temples you see the typical long serpents adorning walkways and entrances to the temples. They are referred to as “naga” by Buddhists/Hindu’s or cosmic serpents but few know what they really represent. Most think they are just decorative items to build around a temple. Some have claimed that they represent a long gone serpent/reptilian race of intelligent beings. Talking to people who really know, the monks and priests, the serpent naga is a representation of the Kundalini spirit of energy, the double helix of DNA perhaps (DNA being the most highly complex engineered matter in the universe) and the energy experienced in Nirvana that a person feels (what we call Samadhi during meditation when you feel your consciousness separate from its physical body) at the highest possible level of human consciousness (with or without the use of ethnobotanical assistance). You will often see many Buddha figures and statues with a 7 headed naga serpent encapsulating Bhudda. This signifies reaching the stage of perfect enlightenment (Nirvana) usually combined with a Kundalini experience where the energies can be felt travelling up the spine through the different Chakra’s to the highest Chakra above the head.
These temples were solely used by the monks who dedicated their lives to withdrawing from all worldly desires like most of us have (homes, families, material possessions, investments etc), living a life of simplicity, letting go of their ego’s, of handouts by local villagers for their sustenance and reaching levels of consciousness most of the other people living in the area would never achieve. These religious people spent most of their time after walking to the villages and consuming this food early in the morning, usually one meal per day, in deep meditation. Their universe was within themselves of which is generally not accessible to us as we have too many distractions and other responsibilities.
Dr Laviolette again asks how did such non scientific people know about these things before microscopes or other scientific apparatus was invented.
The actual architecture of the main Angkor Wat itself has been designed to represent the layout of our Milky Way Galaxy when you observe it from the air. The guides all tell the people it is the layout of the “universe”. The elevated sanctuary towers at the centre of the temple is referred to Mount Meru which in fact represents the giant mother star creating energy at the centre of each galaxy. The consecutive levels surrounding the tall superstructure (where it requires a steep climb to get into…all exciting stuff!) are the rest of the galaxies matter such as all the billions of solar systems (stars) out there, dark matter and energy. Mount Meru is also called the Abode of the Gods. God in this case being the creative force plus the laws of nature (Golden Ratio etc) emanating from the centre of our galaxy.
Throughout virtually everyone of the dozens of temples and pagoda’s in Angkor you will come across the following :-
What these stone square structures are, ranging from a foot square up to 2 metres square, used for the sacred rituals to celebrate the creation phenomenon. The centre represents the female girl thingy (yoni = the womb) and the phallus is the male thingy (linga). You may have heard of calling the woman in your life, “The centre of your/my universe”. This is where the term stems from. In one temple I counted 14 of these structures alone all in their dedicated rooms. The female genital represents again the centre of the galaxy where all creation is performed. The male part is necessary of course to procreate flora and fauna in our environment. The Hindu priests used to pour water on top of the phallus and this used to run all over the structure of fertility symbolising the fact that “water” is a necessary ingredient for all life. The “lustral” water was collected by the priest and used to bless the laypeople who came to visit the temple to bring offerings or food/requisites.
Some of the more elaborate creation structures had Linga’s that were square to present all the cardinal points and the bottom halves were carved in 8 sides (octagonal) to represent the sub cardinal points. Above these structures are very high stone towers sometimes 30-50 feet high with an opening at the top. Thinking this was just damage from centuries of erosion I was corrected by a guide who told me the opening is intentional to allow rain water to fall on the creation structure. Sometimes the novice Hindu Brahmins (priests) used to pour milk or honey over the linga/yoni structures but was deemed incorrect practice as water is the key to conscious life.
Water in this case also represents the carrier of consciousness. Without water there is NO consciousness. We are some 75% water as infants to around 45% for elderly slender people (with little body fat), to an average of 57% for middle aged in-shape people.
Why does the Lotus flower (water lily) appear so much in eastern religion? In its artwork, carvings, and decoration. Is it because it is a pretty flower that is abundant throughout Asia? To the ones who really know it is a symbol of life forming out of the ether, out of nowhere, out of nothing. It has been selected and arranged to illustrate the ancient creation myth. Usually the Lotus plant is arranged in a water feature such as a pond or pot filled with water. When you look at it it appears that the plant has no root system and just grows in the water with no secure or fixed root system into the ground or earth. Its true symbolism is rarely known even by the local people.
One of the must do half day trips around Siem Reap is to Kulen Mountain that is about an hour by car. The top of the mountain houses an active Buddhist temple with a giant reclining Buddha carved out of solid rock on a massive boulder the size of a house. We got there at 11AM just as the monks were commencing their daily meal and sat for the chanting and blessing ritual for that. The mountain is also the source for the Siem Reap river that eventually flows to fill the extensive moats surrounding Angkor Wat. The solid stone river bed has been carved with these square linga/yoni structures at the source near the top of the mountain so that the water that flows over the “One thousand Linga’s” as it is called is ensured of being “divine” before it reaches the temples, villages and farmlands. Again unfortunately most of who see these things and go there do not understand the true meaning.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phnom_Kulen
A visit by boat to the floating village is an eye opener, where the entire fishing village is built up high on stilts so when the Tonle Sap River floods during the wet season the houses are still liveable.
Not worth visiting is the other side of the lake where you are taken to the floating market by boat (be sure to make the distinction) where it is much the same as the goods sold in Siem Reap town and you are asked to fund the local school etc, where once we went to the floating school (comprised of solely Vietnamese people), they had more than enough food, books and stationary. On the lake you have small children coming towards you in small wash tubs asking for money that seem to be friends of our skipper and boat guide (who were both 12 years old). The children make a fortune from tourists as we tipped the “crew” US$5 each and they make about 7-10 trips a day!!!
I would like to return to Siem Reap and the Angkor Wat World Heritage area next dry season and hopefully escort a contingency of our local monks from here as I couldn’t speak highly enough of the place. The hotels are excellent value and the staff superb. Such a high expectation for the region is shown by the great investment from Switzerland, France, Italy, Japan and India to name a few to offer support for the restoration of the temples and a school to train locals in the hospitality industry. The food is 1st class and well priced. Even the local Angkor beer is reasonable at US$1 a can.
The Angkor National Museum is worth a visit (once) as against the Cambodian Cultural Village theme park that is worth a wide berth. It seems to be created for the masses of Korean and Japanese tourists that frequent Siem Reap. The same with the “Kymer War Museum” that is just a yard of old blown up rusty junk from the Kymer Rouge wars some 15 years ago.
Cambodia, Siem Reap, at least has learnt from years of war and human rights abuses from Pol Pot and the Kymer Rouge and has come out as a gem in SE Asia.
My next major trip will be to Peru to live with the Shamans.
(1) Page 98, “Ancient Angkor” by Michael Freeman & Claude Jacques, Amarin Printing & Publishing (public) Ltd. Thailand.
