After finishing our list of temples to visit, we went back to the Golden Temple Villa. My friend wanted to sleep since he is all templed out, besides, we woke quite early to finally make it for the sunrise at Angkor Wat, a little shut eye won’t hurt. It was a Saturday and I wanted to attend Holy Mass since I probably will not have time to attend on Sunday since we will be flying back to Kuala Lumpur.
I asked the conceirge at the hotel whether there was a Catholic Church nearby. The staff doesn’t really understand English very well could not understand what I was looking for. It resorted to hand signals and they finally understood. I needed to know that time the services will be held, so I asked them to call the church for me. Fortunately I got what I wanted.
The helpful staff arranged a tuk-tuk for me to take to the church. The driver will be waiting for me outside the church when the Mass finishes. The church wasn’t that far from the center of Siem Reap, but without a tuk-tuk I wouldn’t have known how to get there. I arrived there quite early and took some time to get some photos of the place.
The church unlike that more traditional church buildings I was used to takes the form of a traditional Khmer house. It was not unlike the houses I saw on the way to the Tonlé Sap. It is a two storey structure, with the main chapel on top. The ground floor hosts a multi-purpose hall and some offices. The refectory is also behind the structure. I thought it is a very unique way of integrating with the locals.
Inside the chapel, I immediately noticed that there was something missing. There were totally no pews. Only mats for everyone on to sit on, so everyone needs to leave their footwear outside the entrance. There were electric fans to keep the faithful cool during the Mass. Near the altar, there is a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus dressed in tradition Khmer attire. Even the tabernacle is shaped like a traditional Khmer house. I thought it was really very impressive how they have integrated some of the local culture into their practice of Catholicism here.
The Mass I’m attending is in English, so as to be expected most of the faithful were foreigners. There were a handful of Cambodians, or at least they looked like Cambodians. Singing the songs was a choir composed of Filipinos, most of them working as entertainers in the bars in Siem Reap, they come complete with portable keyboard, guitar and tambourine. It was very inspiring to see Filipinos show there love for God even in a place as remote as Siem Reap.
After the Mass, there were some refreshments courtesy of the church. But I still need to meet up with my friend who is probably already starving by now. I quickly got back to my driver who was still waiting and went back to the hotel.
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