Our first adventure with Southep was to a pagoda. We arrived at a temple which was in front of the King’s palace. As soon as he stopped a starving woman who was holding a diaper-less child approached me requesting money to feed him. All of a sudden I felt my motherhood shrivel up in tears. She was not the only one. I knew (and from what I’ve heard) that if I were to give her money, the other mothers would come to me.
Sothep took us around the temple to show us these enormous and robust trees from which big bats hang. You are able to see them clearly. Then we continued to the other side where we found women selling lotus flower decorations and many, many cages with little birds. Sothep said people buy the birds and release them. At that point I was not yet comfortable enough to ask “why”, but to me it meant a symbolical cheap ceremony of spiritual freedom and prosperity.
We entered the temple and saw just about the same situation we see in every pagoda: people chanting, donating money, and praying. When we left, amongst many men with different amputations, a man who seem to have retardation and polio stretched his thin arm as he painfully screamed for money in a very disturbing way. It was painful to all of us to watch this first part of our tour., but that was Cambodia. And right there, in front of these numerous people was a fancy palace where the King visited during his stay at Siem Reap. This scene showed me why Southep has in him so much happiness. Among his people he is one without amputations, or sicknesses. He is healthy and grateful to have a job.
Beautiful, thanks for sharing.