The alarm didn't even go off at 4:00 am, I was already awake. Luci and I had an appointment with the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Sopi, our tuk tuk driver was ready, our picnic breakfast of fruit and yogurt was ready, so we set off on the dark relatively quiet streets of Siem Reap along with probably 1000 other congregants to what we hoped would be an event for the ages. We bought our 3 day passes and continued on to the site. We followed the line of people through the portal and onto the grass and found a place by the reflecting pool. The sky continued to lighten and the towers of the wat emerged out of the darkness to be reflected on the still water in front of us. It WAS magical.
Ever since I saw their picture in National Geographic I wanted to visit the site. And Luci and I were there. It was almost perfect - it only lacked Merry and Rory. As the sun rose you could make out more details and, finally, there was enough light for a photograph. Maybe 100 photographs. None will do the moment any justice.
Photos duly taken. My childhood dream was waiting. It was time to explore. The site is amazing. You walk in and out of corridors with bas relief carvings. As many people as there were it was still uncrowded - until the tour buses showed up. We spent 3 hours roaming the halls, climbing the steps, visiting the Buddhist temple next to it. As the temperature increased in the sun it stayed cool in the shade of the towers and cooler yet inside the thick walls. THIS was magical.
We returned to the front to search for Sopi in among the 100s of tuk tuk drivers waiting for their riders. Off to smaller temples. Preah Khan, Neak Poan, Ta Som, Pre Rup. The names will fade from my memory but the experience of walking through them, the steps, the carvings, the heads, the butterflies, the bats, the sun, the heat, the sweat never will.
And tomorrow we get to do it again (at 7:00) at Angkor Thom.
Thanks for reading!