Water

The last temple that I visited was the smallest that I have seen. It had been constructed by a Khmer king known as the Leper King about 900 years ago. He mostly likely didn't have leprosy, but he had a fascination with healing waters.

The small temple sits on an island surrounded by a cross-shaped pool. A Cambodian student told me that it is the same shape as the symbol for a hospital, which I found to be an interesting interpretation. The pool itself is in the middle of a larger island which is the center of a huge reservoir of three square kilometers.

In ancient times a drink from the temple pool was viewed as healing. Today the pool looks fetid. A sip seems more likely to cause health problems than cure them.

Even in the rainy season the ancient reservoir typically does not contain water. This year with the historic flooding that I described in an earlier post, water is everywhere. A new boardwalk was built that was never needed before.

Seventy percent of the water in Cambodian rivers comes from China. China has started building huge dams, so this country known paradoxically as the land of water might be in big trouble. The biggest source of protein for this country is from fresh water fish. Dams mean less water, fewer fish, and food insecurity for this impoverished country.

One Cambodian speaking on this topic said that the future of Cambodia will be decided by Chinese dams and the damn Chinese.