Temple - Padoga

Temple - Pagoda

The temple next to the School are caretakers of the School and is also the home of the Principal and Deputy Principal.

The temple is now also home to many elders in the village who do not have homes, they reside in the temple and also help look after the up keep of the temple and also provide facilities for the students in the School such as provide water and cooking utensils to help the Deputy Principal cook breakfast for the children.

This picture shows a student drinking rainwater collected by the temple in large ceramic pots. Before and after school the children would often come pass here for a drink of water before heading off home. The rainwater is collected by the rusty corrugated iron roof which is not good for the water but it what they have.

Cambodia is a Buddhist country like many other Asian countries. In every province there is likely to be a lovely looking temple structure. The architecture of these buildings are amazing, the is a great deal of detail on the external and internal of the building. These structures are often a building on stilts that is open similar to a hall or function space for people to get together during their praying ceremonies.

The external of this building has many historical features that shows the Cambodian culture, whilst the inside of the building is filled with stories painted on the walls similar to the European churches.

This picture shows Lee's dad Kim and the elder of the temple. Kim was inspired by this elder since he was a young boy studying under the shades of the mango trees before the school was built, it was the elder who inspired Kim to return and build the school for the children after he has established his family in Australia.

Today they sit together and recite Buddhist prayers together and engage in a friendly competition to see who is quicker at reciting these complicated traditional prayers.

It was nice to see them together after so many years.










The Evil Pig...

It is also home to an old crumpy and big pig who kept chasing Sunly and I around on our visit, one of the elders (below) told us his harmless and was cranky that no one has fed him yet...we were convinced he was an evil pig haha!

The picture on the right shows the huts/cottages where the village elderlies reside, those who don't have family or anyone to take care of them will come and live in the temple here. There is a whole family here of lovely elders who are so friendly and gracious and are always happy to help out.

A Traditional Ceremony  

While we were there we were able to experience a traditional praying ceremony at the temple. The whole set up was quote elaborate with a big feast, lots of prayers and gifts to the monastery staff and elderly residents of the temple.

We were really allowed to question the purpose of the ceremony but Lee and I enjoyed the process and the whole experience. We were told though that we would receive many blessings from the monastery.

The elders were really friendly and they loved Lee's family, the older ladies in particular really loved to touch Lee and talk to him which I found really sweet.

They kept giggling around me as they knew I couldn't speak the language but were really kind towards me.

On my way out, there was an elder that dropped what she was carrying and ran up towards me, grabbed my hands and said something to me with a big friendly smile, which I thought was beautiful, though I think I looked a little bit shocked at the time.

Then I heard the deputy principal's voice perhaps saying something to the effect that she can't understand you, the lady began to laugh along with everybody else around us. It was one of the sweetest moments of my life, I later learnt from Lee that this beautiful woman tried to give me blessings and thanked me for coming out all the way to help the school and to visit them with this feast, not that I had anything to do with it a part from helping with the prep. It was Lee's parents and his sister's generosity in setting up the whole event which was very impressive.

This image depicts a lady serving rice to the monks in the monastery, the lady scoops the rice from her container and puts them into the black bowls equally.

This was the elaborate feast that Lee's parents and sister prepared for the ceremony. It consists of traditional foods such as curries, bread, rice and rice dishes such as soups, vegetables and stir fry.

Apparently it is rare for the monastery to have feasts such as this, they usually eat minimum till ceremonies such as these.

















This picture shows Lee's mum Mary amongst the monastery elders, they have been here for years and Mary visits them every time she comes out to Kampong Speu. They are a funny and beautiful group of ladies who are always smiling and giggling and so full of life!

In this picture, the elders who reside in the huts/cottages in the monastery grounds came together to pray and give blessings. Here they have received a clothing pack from Lee's parents which consists of a traditional top, long skirt and scarf, along with a prayers book which Lee's dad Kim helped to write and publish.

This image is taken inside the temple of the Buddhists that are prayed to and worshiped by
the locals. It was such a beautiful setup, in the background are paintings that tells a story from history of the Buddhists and gods of the time. Everything is beautiful and full of bright colours to celebrate life, peace and happiness.

Image of a family praying, the children seem thin and lacked nutrition.


Here are some of my favourite pictures from this part of the trip....

This beautiful little girl kept herself entertained as her mum kindly helped out with the ceremony. They are locals in the village.
I love this picture taken of her.



 

This is such a beautiful picture of Lee and his sister, a happy memory to keep.

This is me blending in haha, I was the main photographer of the trip! or perhaps another fanatic tourist haha

It just wouldn't be complete with at least one selfie :) ... we both had an amazing time experience this traditional ceremony with the family and the friendly people at the monastery.









And this is a gorgeous farewell picture...