The Big Picture

My very inspiring Aunt made a great suggestion to write a flashback piece. Having just visited me in the OHT she thought I should write a story about the picture from Angkor Wat that takes pride of place in our loungeroom....


Heregoes.




Tucked up in our Tuk-Tuk with our driver Sunny, Cowboy and I sat back stunned at the magnificence of Angkor Wat.
 To me, this amazing wonder of the world came to represent resilience in the face of adversity, tranquility at all costs and the ability to look at the bigger picture.
This is one of the reasons the 'bigger picture', a rubbing from Angkor Wat, takes pride of place in our lounge room against our crimson red wall.

Cowboy and I travelled to Cambodia shortly after the surprising news of our pregnancy.
We had been in Siem Reap for a couple of days, and I had not been the dream travel companion.
 I had entered an unexpected world of day long morning sickness and constant emotional turmoil.
The news of the pregnancy had hit me for six.
I was in foreign territory on every level.
 I craved familiarity - yet nothing around me was familiar.
Though I wanted to stay in bed all day and wallow, Cowboy made it clear we were not to do that.
We may be pregnant and in shock - but we were in Cambodia damn it!

So we met our guide Sunny, and took the tuk-tuk to Angkor Wat.
We walked hand in hand along the amazing moat leading up to the temple.
Monks and tourists ahoy, Angkor Wat was certainly the place to be.

As we walked closer and closer to the temple I pondered how Cowboy and I had only been together 9 months and how we were faced with decisions bigger than we had ever faced before.

All the while face to face with the monstrosity of Khmer Architecture adorned with more peaceful Buddhas than you could poke a stick at.

We were viewing this most tranquil and peaceful temple at my most chaotic, lost and confused time.

While we plundered through the magnificent wonder of the world amazed at the sheer detail that went into this 12th Century creation - we began to grasp the significance of where we were.

An enormous ancient temple built completely in honour of one's faith.

Though swarming with tourists, Siem Reap locals came to the temple to pray.
 There were many shrines set up.

Many enterprising Cambodians offered us their tour guide services. We couldn't help but notice the sunny disposition of the Cambodian people.

We were in a country that had been through the most horrific adversity and yet seemed to be home to the happiest people I had ever met.

It took us a couple of days to see all the sites of Angkor Wat.

We saw them via foot and via Elephant.

Some of the steeper temples I let Cowboy climb up, while I stayed at ground level having my photograph taken with locals and tourists.

I was quite a hit!

I temporarily considered moving to Cambodia where I would be treated like a movie star purely for the colour of my hair.

So much was going on.

 Angkor Wat is a magical place.

Though overrun with tourists (ourselves included) if you find a quiet corner and you are face to face with the intricately designed buddhas - you can't help but feel a sense of all that is bigger than yourself.

The ancient world, the spiritual world, a country filled with people that have faith.

Faith in things they can't see or prove.

It was about that time that I stopped the chatter in my head and decided that it was time too I stopped analysing what was happening within me, my relationship and my life.

It was time to just have faith.

In hindsight, it has paid off.

The two worlds I was experiencing those days at Angkor Wat have come together nicely and the striking reminder in our lounge room never lets me forget the bigger picture.