A special experience in Siem Reap

Remember I said previously that I love the hotel (and its staff) we stayed at? Here's why.

I had been wanting to visit a Buddhist temple to see the architecture, the monks at prayer, and get a blessed red string bracelet if possible, but I never seem to get the chance. Even from my first visit here, I didn't get to.

Either it was lack of time or sheer exhaustion that the plan kept getting pushed aside. I must’ve bugged Mike about this enough that he mentioned it jokingy to our hotel’s receptionist.

Later in the evening, after dinner and drinks in town, we headed back to the hotel to retire. As we entered the door, the receptionist excitedly told us that there’s a newly-built Pagoda nearby and today is the last day of its festivities. He asked us if we want to go even if it’s late in the night. We didn’t hesitate despite our exhaustion. He then asked the other receptionist to take us there on his bike. We were doubtful at first that he can carry us both on his little semi-automatic, but he did.

After about 15 minutes of travel, we reached the newly-erected Buddhist Temple/Pagoda and the carnival fair celebrating the momentous event. There was a strong crowd of locals and monks. I didn’t see any other foreigners there.

We entered the premises and changed some dollars to Riel to donate to the temple. Our hotel receptionist acted as our guide on how to do the donations. We gave some to the people then circled the interior of the temple dropping Riels in pits and at altars. Then, we lit some incense and made a silent prayer before exiting the Pagoda.

Outside were young monks offering prayer for donations. They were so fascinated with Mike that they wanted photos with him. By the way, men are allowed to do so while women have to keep a safe distance when having photos taken with the saffron-wearing monks. They were hi-fiving Mike and joking around.

It was such an amazing experience. So surreal to be around the locals and witness them worshipping and having fun too. Apparently it was a rare opportunity to experience as we were told Pagodas aren’t built often in Siem Reap, so getting to see that was definitely one for the books!

Oh and we got our blessed red string bracelets too!