Cambodia, especially the Bodhi Tree Meditation Resort

I'm going to have to do this in two parts.

First, I will discuss what happened in Cambodia, and then, I will show it. 

Hopefully my writing would compete with my pictures. This is an expected large post which was why I was hesitant to write anything like this. See this trip predates the actual trip, mostly because
of how easy accessible and workable my retreat was. The retreat was the easiest to work with, so I will begin with that. This post will be mostly about this retreat because this was mainly the reason for the whole trip to Cambodia.

Angkor Bodhi Tree Retreat and Meditation Centre is a newly 

established retreat in the center of Siem Reap. It is in a 

great location, a couple of blocks aways from the tourist 

areas as well as my favorite restaurant, Peace Cafe. 

It is owned by a kindhearted Australian named Bob, and 

properly managed by his daughter Donna. It was,and still is, 

decorated in the most beautiful buddhist style,

but I digress. 

I still need to start the trip off in the beginning. I 
found the name Angkor Bodhi Tree Retreat and Meditation 
Centre on TravelAdvisor.It had amazing reviews, yet not
a lot of blogs had written about it. Being a cautious 
individual, the concept of going to a "third-world" 
country scared me. Mostly because I was afraid of walking 
down the wrong neighborhood, or going to jail, or overall
being taken advantage of. I wanted to go to a place, 
a place to make me feel safe, and Angkor Bodhi Tree 
Retreat and Meditation Centre seemed to be that place.

I initially emailed them and they responded back promptly. 
They answered all my questions like, "how do I get to your 
resort?" or "how much would five days cost?" They were 
friendly and that friendliness made me feel excited for 
the eventual trip. They even helped me out with the most 
stressful question, "will you accommodate for my vegan 
needs?" They would, and they did. With that, my plan was 
in set. For July, I would set my sails and head to Siem 
Reap.

Getting to the country was a bit stressful at best. For me, 
it seemed to have slipped my mind that I needed to get a 
visa,and I completely ran out of time to exchange my money
into Cambodian dollars. So throughout my plane trip I was 
stress eating at the notion that I would be stuck in a 
country without any money or even worse, sent out of a 
country because I didn't have a visa. Luckily for me, 
you only have to pay a extra dollar if you did not 
prepare the visa ahead of time and once arriving, I was 
smart enough to bring my credit card so I managed to 
get some money from the ATM.

Getting through customs was exceptionally easy and when I 
arrived, I experienced the start of the excellent service of 
Angkor Bodhi Tree. Walking out of the arrivals doors, a 
friendly man welcomed me. He is an actual tut tut worker for 
the company, and when he greeted me, he was vibrant, 
energetic, and above all, friendly.

When we arrived at the retreat, we arrived in a secluded 
area nestled in a residential community. Adorned with a 
cosmos of red and holy buddhist material the owner of the 
retreat, Bob, came out of the doors and welcomed me. Bob 
understood that I was tired and nervous, but when I met 
him, I immediately felt instantly comfortable and alert. 
I knew I made the right choice.

The next day followed like this; at 6:00 am we had 
meditation, then we had a couple of minutes to get ready 
for breakfast. When we had breakfast I got to meet Bob's 
lovely daughter Donna who was managing the retreat and 
whatnot. In the retreat, you are guaranteed a breakfast 
and a dinner every day. Knowing I was a vegan, Bob and 
Donna were nice enough to accommodate for my lifestyle. 
For breakfast, I got lovely museli and soy milk accompanied 
by a colorful selection of bananas, dragon fruits, 
and lychees. It was the first time in a long time that I 
felt I was eating healthy. I loved that moment.

Afterwards, we did the stretching session. Bob used to 
managed a gym so he is experienced in stretching. I got 
to stretch in ways that I never knew I could do. My issue 
is that I am extremely flexible, so most times when I 
stretch, I do not feel like I am stretching. However with 
Bob, I felt it. It was quite exhilarating. I managed to 
finally feel a stretch and overall a spark of joy began 
to ignite.

I had so much planned for Cambodia that I was still a bit 
discombobulated on what to do. Bob sat me down and helped me 
construct an itinerary. I had a plan set for the week. 

On monday I did a, what was entitled, a "Mystery Tour". 
Devised by Bob, the "Mystery Tour" was a private tour that 
travels throughout the unknown regions of Cambodia away from 
the tourist encrusted remains of Angkor Wat, and towards
the hills. What I saw where things that I still cannot wrap 
my head around. I have always understood that people live in 
huts however seeing up close was very surreal. However I saw 
beauties that were quite profound. I saw the gorgeous 
construction of farming, and I felt the cool breeze of fresh 
air. It was a strong experience, and overall it was something
that needs to happen. It is always fun to be a tourist, but 
taking moments to see the real country is equally as great.

After that, probably on tuesday, I managed to see a buddhist 
monk chant. Needless to say, I felt my soul drift away from 
my body. I felt the vibration of the Earth and I felt strong,
aware, and powerful. It was gorgeous and amazing. Truly 
something I have never experienced before. Sitting there 
listening to the chant was like slowly transcending your 
body. My nerves were tingling, and I was truly awestruck.

On Wednesday I went to Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is something 
that many people talk about, so I am not going to continue 
with mindless dribble. What I found to be amazing was the 
size of the area. Angkor Wat is GIGANTIC. It is so big that 
it is nearly impossible to see every temple in a couple of 
days. What I found amazing was the concept of how it was 
created. While the rest of the world was hitting rocks to 
make a fire, the Cambodians were thriving under Angkor Wat. 
It really shows how amazing man is. When we have something 
set in stone, we can accomplish anything.

On Thursday Bob gave me a tour around Cambodia as well. It 
was very similar to the mystery tour. However it was a great
tour because I got to bond with Bob. The retreat owner Bob 
is a beautiful person. He was the most spiritual man I have 
ever met in my life. I would instantly listen to every word 
he said like my life depended on it. When I saw him walking 
around I was extremely happy. His dedication and passion was
contagious. For example, I personally have thought that auras 
and aura readings were ridiculous, however his interest in 
the subject made me download a app based on it. He was one 
of the best things about the trip, and I was lucky to have 
been given the opportunity to meet him.

On Friday I got a buddhist blessing. It was the number one 
thing I wanted, and it was the best way to end the week. On 
Friday, two other guests and I went to the meditation room 
and were greeted by three buddhist monks. Their ages ranged 
from thirty to sixteen and they were all really happy and 
friendly. They opened the room up by introducing who they 
were then proceeded to bless us. They chanted, splashed water 
on us, and gave us bracelets that were designed to be good
luck. As I write this post, I am still wearing this bracelet.
 In the end, I felt grown spiritually.

Angkor Bodhi Tree was one of the best decisions I made this 

year. I originally came to the retreat stressed, tired, 

and scared. When I left the retreat, I felt beautiful and 

happy to be me. It is really hard to see yourself as a great 

and wonderful person, but when you make time to care for 

yourself, you really feel an emotional and physical change. I 

really feel in debt towards Angkor Bodhi Tree Retreat and 

Meditation Centre. They helped me grow.