Angkor Wat & other Buddhist/Hindu things

I'm a little frustrated right now because I was trying to upload pictures and it's not working too well. But the last two days have been very full and interesting. I'm still in Siem Reap and have about 10 different temples under my belt now. These range from massively huge Angkor Wat to small and overgrown Ta Prohm. I've braved heat, humidity, treacherous stairs and worst of all: street vendors. They seem harmless enough at first, but after the 5 billionth child accosting you to buy "Sir, 4 for 1 dollah! 4 for 1 dollah!!" you come to understand their true intent: to ward off tourists so they can reclaim their country. But I didn't give in, and I was actually relatively nice to most of them. That should foil their plans.

It's hard to really describe what it's like wondering around the ruins of civilizations long past. We hired a couple of really nice tuk-tuk drivers, Pieb and Lida, who were our chauffeurs for the day. We also hired a guide the first day who told us about the different characters in Buddhist and Hindu mythology and when and why all the various structures were built. It was interesting stuff, but hard to pay attention to after a while because a lot of it started running together.

(I think the pictures are uploading now, yay!)

I learned a lot about Buddhism and Hinduism and am thoroughly convinced that they are both retarded. Oops. That wasn't sensitive, but it's true. Of the two, Buddhism actually has some pretty decent principles to live by that are strangely similar to the teachings of Christ. Unfortunately, it was pretty hard to separate the abuse of religious power by a political figure from the religion in its pure form. Kinda reminded me of Catholicism actually.

I did get to talk with a Buddhist monk in the top of Angkor Wat and had a really great conversation. He became a monk because he loves learning and is supported by his family because it is honorable to have a monk in the family. I got to share the Gospel with him, which was pretty cool, and he told me about learning how to be a good person Buddha-style.

We've eaten lunch at stands in the Angkor Wat area and dinner in the tourist area of Siem Riep. Last night Sebastian and I met the Christian girls from California for desert and I had the best ice cream of my life. A bigger group then went dancing before we all headed back to our respective guest houses for the night.

One thing I was thinking about today was manna and how God provided for the Israelites. He gave them just enough for the day, but they also had to get up off their butts and pick the stuff up off the ground. And when they got to the Promised Land, the manna cut off. God doesn't forcefeed us, He provides the means to get what we need, but sometimes we just need to get up off our butts and pick the darn stuff up.

One more thing. Today a bunch of Buddhist monks came to the area we were in to pray for rain. I think they believe in a rain god or something like that, I'm a little unclear there, but the people fed them and they prayed to whoever. I really want there to be rain for these people, but I don't want Buddha or the rain god to get credit for it, so I asked God to withhold the rain for a few more days. He deserves the glory, not some false god. Today really reminded of why God is closer to the poor than the rich though. I hope He gets credit when He decides to send the rains.