Losing Time On The Li River

Rushing to get there has whipped the dust up around us. It settles over our shoulders and on our faces. Behind is the hum of engines and the lilt of music. Guides and drivers are waiting. The temple dogs are barking.

As we round the mountain they grow fainter. Some of us peel off at the base of the temple. Most begin to climb. The steps are steep and the width of a foot turned sideways. I go shoeless for fear of falling. Every now and then I pause. The sun is still orange. I have time.

On each tier there are people already settled in; their bags are off and tripods locked in place. My camera is waiting for me in China. I regret leaving it there. Without it, watching the sun rise over Angkor Wat that morning felt lacking. The clicking of cameras and the jostling of the crowds was distracting. I lost focus. I felt I missed something.

This is not like Angkor Wat. Here I wouldn’t know what to photograph. We are inside and on the temple, not outside it. From here the view is flat and sprawling. The horizon is yellow with haze. Other temples are obscured by treetops. This view is impressive but it is not beautiful. Wait, I tell myself. Go higher.

It's over as quickly as it begins: A woman next to me slips, I catch her, and we go on. At the top she says ‘Thank you’ before shuffling away. I think her breathless whisper unnecessary until I see what’s happening around us. The dust has wrapped around the sun, turning it red. The entire landscape is changing with it.Cameras start clicking, trying to capture the way the sun tempers the stones from gold to orange to red.

Without my camera I grow listless. Somehow this change is less noticeable without a lens to view it through. I look for the woman who almost fell but she’s disappeared among the crowd.

The sun is changing us, too. Our skin is glowing.The dust on our faces is the same shade as the sun. I think to myself: Soon it will set. We’ll pack up our things and head back to town. Soon enough that sun won't reach one of us again. It’s as simple as taking a picture, as easy as slipping down a step. But, for now, the sun is out we are here with it. If I had my camera, it's these people in this moment that I'd be capturing.

Later I see the woman I helped. She's guiding someone else down the steps. Others are doing the same. The temple is covered in words of gratitude, but not for long. There are drivers waiting and places to see. The dust is not settled yet.