Sunday 1 July
We enjoyed our stay last night in the very nice hotel which was booked for us at short notice due to a mix up of dates on our part. I noticed a couple of geckoes (lizards) on the inside walls of the hotel and it took me back over 40 years to my 3 years in Singapore as a teenager, where we'd find geckoes skitting about on the inside house walls every evening. My Mum loved them, and had her own little rhyme for them, calling them chit-chats:
"Little chit-chat on the wall
Ain't you got no clothes at all?
Ain't you got no shimmy shirt?
Oh my, ain't you cold?"
It's become a much loved rhyme in our family.
In the morning, we settle ourselves back into our original hotel; we are paying $25 a night (about £16) for the 2 of us, and the room is beautiful. You could be forgiven for thinking that hostels would be of a lesser quality in South East Asia than in a Western country, but actually the reverse is often the case. That's because the hostels we've booked in South East Asia through Hostel World, are actually very cheap hotels, and are just as reasonably priced as hostels in, say Australia or Europe, but are normally of excellent quality. Most of them provide towels, shampoos, soaps, combs, cotton buds, showercaps, and hairdryer. Often they have a kettle, and provide tea and coffee in the room, as well as having airconditioning and free wifi as standard, and usually, they have good shower facilities. Some travellers have told us about some of the awful hostels they've come across in Western countries, (in particular Australia) where cheap means bring your own towels and no frills at all,
We've found that in SE Asia, staff are often truly welcoming, friendly, and go out of their way to be helpful. Breakfast is always included and varies from adequate to superb. At our current hotel/hostel, in Phnom Penh, a large blackboard outside the foyer of the hotel proclaims, in chalk,
"Welcome Reginald Parker!". Cheesy, you may say, but a nice touch.
In the afternoon we go to visit the Royal Palace in the centre of Phnom Penh. Tuk tuks vie for our custom, but we're going to walk; we need the exercise, even though, when we've covered the distance to the Palace, which takes us only 15 minutes. we're perspiring with the clammy 36 deg temperature.
The Royal Palace is the official residence of the King of Cambodia (nowadays only a symbolic figurehead). We're surprised that we have to queue for tickets, as we've never had to queue before for any of the historic monuments or palaces in any of the countries we've visited. Those queuing are mainly Westerners.
Brief resume of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh: As well as the King living there, "the Royal Palace serves as a venue for court ceremonies and as a symbol of the Kingdom" (Phnom Penh Guide Book). Established in 1866, when the capital of Cambodia was moved from Oudong to Phnom Penh. Has been in its current format since 1920. Design influenced by Khmer and European elements,and by the palace of Bangkok. Attached to the Palace compound, is the Silver Pagoda, so named because its floor is tiled in pure silver. Royal ceremonies and meetings with monks take place here, although no monks live in the pagoda, as is the case with many other pagodas.
The Silver Pagoda houses a priceless collection of Buddhist and historical objects, the most precious being the "Emerald Buddha".
We wander around the grounds of the palace, and are able to look inside some buildings,including the Silver Pagoda, but other buildings are cordoned off. We bump into 2 English girls whom we last saw in our hostel in Hanoi, and chat with them for 20 minutes.
The Royal Palace buildings are architecturally beautiful; each rooftop corner sweeps upwards into a magnificent swirl, rather like a deer's antler. Whilst I find the valuable buddha statues and religious artifacts beautiful in their own right, I have never been drawn to idols or to the embellishment of worship through precious man-made symbols. I guess that's why I'm comfortable in the Methodist branch of Christianity, where fancy crosses and valuable embellishments aren't usually present.
"Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head"
(Matthew Chapter 8, verse 20, Holy Bible).
These words of Jesus signify for me the simpler life we are encouraged to attempt to attain.
There are lots of Buddhists monks walking around the grounds of the Royal Palace, in their orange robes and simple sandals on their feet. We say hello to a trio of them as they walk passed us, and they stop to talk to us. They are all young men, in their 20's. One of them can speak a little English, and we end up in conversation with them for about half an hour. We learn that there are about 60,000 monks in Cambodia. Since we first arrived in Cambodia, we've got used to seeing them out and about, walking along, or riding pillion on a motorbike.
The earnest monk doesn't smile a lot, but tries to answer our questions. I explain that I'm a Christian, and indicate my cross. He tells us that 90% of the Cambodian population think of themselves as Buddhist (he doesn't say whether or not they practise their religion). However we did notice when we were travelling through the Cambodian countryside to Phnom Penh that many homes have what looks like an extremely ornate gold-coloured bird table outside of their homes; this painted and decorated icon usually has incense sticks available to burn in it, and serves to enable the souls of the dead to rest in peace.
But do these young men become monks just because of their religious beliefs? We learn that becoming a monk is a way for young men of no financial means to obtain a good education. It comes at a price though; they renounce worldly goods and spend much time in meditation and prayer, vowing to live a simple lifestyle.
"Do you have to remain celibate?" I ask. The young man doesn't understand that so I say, " You can't get married?"
No, they can't get married, while they are monks. But, we discover later, from our hotel manager, that many monks leave their order and return to civilian life once they have received their education - so for some, it's a temporary thing. Unlike Christian monks, who we believe normally take lifelong vows, although of course some do leave the Order, but that's rare.
Reg tells the monks that the basic rules for living life in a good, honest way are the same in most religions; " love your neighbour as yourself"; Christ goes further and says ,"love your enemies".
In the booklet we received at the Royal Palace entrance, the 8 precepts of Buddhism are listed:
1. Not to kill
2. Not to steal
3. Not to commit adultery
4. Not to falsify
5. Not to slander
6. Not to eat at the wrong time
7. To avoid worldly gifts
8. Not to use ointments
I'm not sure about no 8, but I tell the monks we have the 10 commandments in Christianity, which are similar.
"Are you happy?" I ask the earnest monk. He deliberates; does he understand my question?
"Why do you ask me that?" he says. "What would you reply?"
"I am happy," I say, "because of my Christian faith."
"How do you know you believe?" he asks. This is getting to be quite a deep discussion.
"It's in here," I say, pointing to my heart. "My faith is here."
"I'm not happy," says the monk,"But I feel peace."
I think what he means is that he doesn't have worldly goods to make him happy, but he is at peace with himself. We say we have to go; the monk says he has enjoyed practising his English, We offer to shake hands, but the monks say they cannot touch me because I am a woman. They give me the traditional Buddhist greeting (prayer hands in front of the chest), and shake hands with Reg.
We go on our way, and for some reason I feel exhausted.
"That was interesting" I say to Reg, reflecting that they cannot touch a woman. I remember how the prostitute washes Jesus's feet with her tears and dries them with her hair, and anoints them with oil. When Simon the Pharisee mutters under his breath that if Jesus is really who he says he is, he wouldn't let a prostitute touch him, Jesus tells a story which rebukes the Pharisee for his hypocrisy. The prostitute is showing her love for Jesus; Simon the Pharisee is only interested in rules and protocol. (Luke, chapter 7, verses 37 to 50, Holy Bible.)
We enjoyed our stay last night in the very nice hotel which was booked for us at short notice due to a mix up of dates on our part. I noticed a couple of geckoes (lizards) on the inside walls of the hotel and it took me back over 40 years to my 3 years in Singapore as a teenager, where we'd find geckoes skitting about on the inside house walls every evening. My Mum loved them, and had her own little rhyme for them, calling them chit-chats:
"Little chit-chat on the wall
Ain't you got no clothes at all?
Ain't you got no shimmy shirt?
Oh my, ain't you cold?"
It's become a much loved rhyme in our family.
In the morning, we settle ourselves back into our original hotel; we are paying $25 a night (about £16) for the 2 of us, and the room is beautiful. You could be forgiven for thinking that hostels would be of a lesser quality in South East Asia than in a Western country, but actually the reverse is often the case. That's because the hostels we've booked in South East Asia through Hostel World, are actually very cheap hotels, and are just as reasonably priced as hostels in, say Australia or Europe, but are normally of excellent quality. Most of them provide towels, shampoos, soaps, combs, cotton buds, showercaps, and hairdryer. Often they have a kettle, and provide tea and coffee in the room, as well as having airconditioning and free wifi as standard, and usually, they have good shower facilities. Some travellers have told us about some of the awful hostels they've come across in Western countries, (in particular Australia) where cheap means bring your own towels and no frills at all,
We've found that in SE Asia, staff are often truly welcoming, friendly, and go out of their way to be helpful. Breakfast is always included and varies from adequate to superb. At our current hotel/hostel, in Phnom Penh, a large blackboard outside the foyer of the hotel proclaims, in chalk,
"Welcome Reginald Parker!". Cheesy, you may say, but a nice touch.
In the afternoon we go to visit the Royal Palace in the centre of Phnom Penh. Tuk tuks vie for our custom, but we're going to walk; we need the exercise, even though, when we've covered the distance to the Palace, which takes us only 15 minutes. we're perspiring with the clammy 36 deg temperature.
The Royal Palace is the official residence of the King of Cambodia (nowadays only a symbolic figurehead). We're surprised that we have to queue for tickets, as we've never had to queue before for any of the historic monuments or palaces in any of the countries we've visited. Those queuing are mainly Westerners.
Brief resume of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh: As well as the King living there, "the Royal Palace serves as a venue for court ceremonies and as a symbol of the Kingdom" (Phnom Penh Guide Book). Established in 1866, when the capital of Cambodia was moved from Oudong to Phnom Penh. Has been in its current format since 1920. Design influenced by Khmer and European elements,and by the palace of Bangkok. Attached to the Palace compound, is the Silver Pagoda, so named because its floor is tiled in pure silver. Royal ceremonies and meetings with monks take place here, although no monks live in the pagoda, as is the case with many other pagodas.
The Silver Pagoda houses a priceless collection of Buddhist and historical objects, the most precious being the "Emerald Buddha".
We wander around the grounds of the palace, and are able to look inside some buildings,including the Silver Pagoda, but other buildings are cordoned off. We bump into 2 English girls whom we last saw in our hostel in Hanoi, and chat with them for 20 minutes.
The Royal Palace buildings are architecturally beautiful; each rooftop corner sweeps upwards into a magnificent swirl, rather like a deer's antler. Whilst I find the valuable buddha statues and religious artifacts beautiful in their own right, I have never been drawn to idols or to the embellishment of worship through precious man-made symbols. I guess that's why I'm comfortable in the Methodist branch of Christianity, where fancy crosses and valuable embellishments aren't usually present.
"Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head"
(Matthew Chapter 8, verse 20, Holy Bible).
These words of Jesus signify for me the simpler life we are encouraged to attempt to attain.
There are lots of Buddhists monks walking around the grounds of the Royal Palace, in their orange robes and simple sandals on their feet. We say hello to a trio of them as they walk passed us, and they stop to talk to us. They are all young men, in their 20's. One of them can speak a little English, and we end up in conversation with them for about half an hour. We learn that there are about 60,000 monks in Cambodia. Since we first arrived in Cambodia, we've got used to seeing them out and about, walking along, or riding pillion on a motorbike.
The earnest monk doesn't smile a lot, but tries to answer our questions. I explain that I'm a Christian, and indicate my cross. He tells us that 90% of the Cambodian population think of themselves as Buddhist (he doesn't say whether or not they practise their religion). However we did notice when we were travelling through the Cambodian countryside to Phnom Penh that many homes have what looks like an extremely ornate gold-coloured bird table outside of their homes; this painted and decorated icon usually has incense sticks available to burn in it, and serves to enable the souls of the dead to rest in peace.
But do these young men become monks just because of their religious beliefs? We learn that becoming a monk is a way for young men of no financial means to obtain a good education. It comes at a price though; they renounce worldly goods and spend much time in meditation and prayer, vowing to live a simple lifestyle.
"Do you have to remain celibate?" I ask. The young man doesn't understand that so I say, " You can't get married?"
No, they can't get married, while they are monks. But, we discover later, from our hotel manager, that many monks leave their order and return to civilian life once they have received their education - so for some, it's a temporary thing. Unlike Christian monks, who we believe normally take lifelong vows, although of course some do leave the Order, but that's rare.
Reg tells the monks that the basic rules for living life in a good, honest way are the same in most religions; " love your neighbour as yourself"; Christ goes further and says ,"love your enemies".
In the booklet we received at the Royal Palace entrance, the 8 precepts of Buddhism are listed:
1. Not to kill
2. Not to steal
3. Not to commit adultery
4. Not to falsify
5. Not to slander
6. Not to eat at the wrong time
7. To avoid worldly gifts
8. Not to use ointments
I'm not sure about no 8, but I tell the monks we have the 10 commandments in Christianity, which are similar.
"Are you happy?" I ask the earnest monk. He deliberates; does he understand my question?
"Why do you ask me that?" he says. "What would you reply?"
"I am happy," I say, "because of my Christian faith."
"How do you know you believe?" he asks. This is getting to be quite a deep discussion.
"It's in here," I say, pointing to my heart. "My faith is here."
"I'm not happy," says the monk,"But I feel peace."
I think what he means is that he doesn't have worldly goods to make him happy, but he is at peace with himself. We say we have to go; the monk says he has enjoyed practising his English, We offer to shake hands, but the monks say they cannot touch me because I am a woman. They give me the traditional Buddhist greeting (prayer hands in front of the chest), and shake hands with Reg.
We go on our way, and for some reason I feel exhausted.
"That was interesting" I say to Reg, reflecting that they cannot touch a woman. I remember how the prostitute washes Jesus's feet with her tears and dries them with her hair, and anoints them with oil. When Simon the Pharisee mutters under his breath that if Jesus is really who he says he is, he wouldn't let a prostitute touch him, Jesus tells a story which rebukes the Pharisee for his hypocrisy. The prostitute is showing her love for Jesus; Simon the Pharisee is only interested in rules and protocol. (Luke, chapter 7, verses 37 to 50, Holy Bible.)
I like your ending. Well done. God Bless.
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