We were up way before the dawn for the obligatory viewing of the sunrise over Angkor Wat temple.
Mao our TukTuk driver arrived bang on time and once we’d climbed onboard clutching our bagged hotel breakfasts, we headed off down the bumpy, unlit lane towards Angkor Wat, desperatly hoping that the stories/rumours we’d heard about the low numbers of tourists were true.
Mao dropped us at the end of the wide pathway down to the moat and the bridge over the moat to the temple, but as it was still pre-dawn, darkness made it hard to see where to walk, let alone actually see the temple.
We found the bridge, discovering that it was closed for renovation and then through the darkness spotted torchlight a little further along the moat; we headed towards the lights and found the ticket checkers and a huddle of guides touting for work and the new floating bridge across to the temple.
In the gloom, we found our way through the West Gate passing a buddha statue as we walked, then out into the main temple and the reflecting pools.
We easily found a spot on the edge of the pool with a good view of the temple and stood enjoying the slowly rising sun – minute by minute the colours changed, silhouetting the temple and creating a perfect reflection in the pool.
Luckily, there was no crowd to fight or jostle through with what looked like less than a hundred people around us.
Sunset fully enjoyed, we made our way into the main temple enjoying an hour or two just wandering around taking in the ancient carvings and amazing 12th century architecture.
Wandering back past the libraries and once more through the east gate, we took in one last look at the temple from across the moat and headed back up the causeway to find our TukTuk driver Mao and our packed breakfast.
Mao took us along the moat, stopping at the furthest corner recommending that we sit on the surrounding wall to enjoy our breakfast, a good recommendation too to sit there and see Angkor Wat across the moat and watch ladies fishing for snails in the nearby weed. Delightful.
Breakfast done, Mao drove is off to through the Tonle Om Gate and on to Bayon Temple. The vastness of this temple (4 times the size of Angkor Wat) with it’s intricate carvings and many towers was impressive and overwhelming.
Then on to Ta Prohm. This temple is best known for being used in Tomb Raider with the tree growing into the main body of the temple. Having never seen the film, this was not particularly relevant to us, although everybody we met felt we needed to watch it!
Then a short drive on to Bantay Kdei and finally finishing up with a visit to Nokor Thom. These were both incredibly quiet and we shared our visit with only 2/3 other visitors.
Templed out, Mao dropped us back at the Sokkhak for a quiet afternoon by the pool to absorb and reflect on what we’d seen during the morning. It was only once we’d had time to ourselves that we realised just how much the visit had impacted us.
Later that afternoon, on the recommendation of our host, we visited the Foot Prints Cafe for a coffee followed by dinner across the road in Banllé a vegetarian restaurant.
mrandmrsyoung 