The second day, we journeyed to Phnom Kulen, considered by the Khmer to be the most sacred mountain in Cambodia. On the mountain, the girls filled bottles and bathed in the mountain’s sacred water. (Visiting sacred Buddhist sites with a Catholic Sister in charge was interesting; while the girls were informed that it we weren’t on a pilgrimage, I think most of them were still able to appreciate the sacredness of our journey). We reached the falls for a picnic lunch and a chance to swim! We hit up a couple more temples that day, and I was completely awe-struck walking through the path and wandering through them.
On our return, we stopped half-way at Mt. Santuk (another sacred Buhhdist pilgrimage site). This was one of my favorite places to explore. Christine and I were the only tourists as we began climbing the 800 steps to the pagoda at the summit. It felt as if this site was completely untouched by the evils that tourism and development bring. As I photographed the site, the students were all laughing at me, I don’t think they could understand what I found so fascinating about a pagoda that is quite typical to them!
Aching and sleep-deprived, Christine and I rolled off the bus. While it was Chinese New Year, we were both too tired to track down the celebration and instead, simply fell into bed.
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