Cambodian Adventuring

I make an effort to never rise before the sun does. I could definitely be a morning person if the morning happened sometime around lunchtime. Alas it does not so I am doomed to forever stumble downstairs after 11am reaching blindly for some form of cereal while attempting to wipe the sleep from my eyes.

So it is easy to imagine my displeasure when my Cambodia on a Shoestring tour guide announced that we had to meet in the hotel lobby at 4.45am to head to the Angkor Temple Complex to see the sunrise.

A scowl etched itself onto my face and stayed there through the night. It deepened as the tour group met in the lobby, yawn ridden with sheet creased faces after being pulled from the warm embrace of our beds.

Our bus rumbled through the empty streets of the city (quiet because it was basically still the middle of the night and all sane Siem Reap-ians were safely asleep in bed). The silence was a calming reprieve from the bustle of Siem Reap's roads in daylight.

After a short while we arrived at the gates to Angkor. As well as being a certified UNESCO World Heritage Site, Angkor is a 400 square km archaeologically rich area which contains dozens of temples and sculptures that pay magnificent homage to Khmer architecture– with Angkor Wat being the complex’s most famous. The temple complex was initially Hindu and later became Buddhist with the emergence of the religion’s popularity.

Bus-loads of tourists- our tour group included- lined up in the dark for tickets. After a horrendous photo taking experience for my pass (note to self: never try and smile before 7am), I picked my way carefully across the grounds towards the main temple; Angkor Wat.

The crowds were quiet as hundreds of people stepped through the gateway. While I lightly brushed my fingertips across the thousand year old walls, the only sounds were the soft rustles of birds and animals slowly waking to greet the impending day.

Looking up at Angkor Wat from the edge of a dam, I saw streaks of daylight lapping at the edge of the fading night. Sensing that the sunrise was imminent, the crowds whipped out cameras, tripods, and cellphones. Sounds of frantic clicking quickened as the navy sky was increasingly painted with pinks and oranges.

Slowly and then all at once dawn washed across the stone walls of the ancient temple.

In that moment, with the Cambodian sun warming my tired eyes, dragging myself out of bed at 4.30am didn’t seem so terrible.