Sunrise at Angkor Wat
Sunrise at Angkor Wat. My Mom filmed this timelapse and it’s about 45 minutes of real time.
Later in the morning at the pond that’s usually crowded. I’m sure there was a little bit of a crowd, but it had long since dispersed and it still looks like sunrise to me!
Leading up to some trips, I go absolutely nuts with research and for others there’s minimal researching until we’re on the road. The Southeast Asia adventure with my parents was one that had almost too much research. Partially due to the fact we were traveling with a group for 80% of the trip, I had been looking forward to breaking off into Cambodia where we would be on our own… but the pressure was on to make it perfect.
In case you’re wondering, we’re listening to this instrumental song which I found on a playlist just a few days earlier. We each have one of my earbuds. I work with my Dad, so this was our first vacation together since I was a kid. We just can’t usually take time off at the same time but when we were offered the opportunity to visit Thailand at no expense to us through the generosity of our partnership with PRECOA we couldn’t resist. A huge thank you to my brother, Gideon, who shouldered all the work responsibilities while we were gone.
Due to a travel agent mistake (actually there were many mistakes!) we only had ONE (1) day in Cambodia when we were supposed to have two. I think my husband is still frustrated about it. My Dad had been wanting to see the Temples of Angkor his entire life… so, no pressure.
Seeing the sunrise at Angkor was a huge point of anxiety for me pre-trip, but in the end I am so glad we woke up at 4:00 AM to enjoy the experience.
My family and I are no strangers to getting up in the middle of the night (we are all funeral directors, after all) but from all my research, the pushy crowds and terrible photos… many reported that they did not enjoy the sunrise at all. Still others (even bloggers that I really trust!) said they wish they had spent the sunrise hour at one of the other temples like Ta Prohm so that you have it all to yourself to enjoy the tranquility and take beautiful photos.
In the early morning light, the lathe-turned balusters (which are made of stone and not wood) cast a shadow that resembles the towers of the temple. This was done on purpose.
The trouble with all of my research? None of these people had been to Cambodia post-pandemic. Many tourists tack on a few days in Cambodia at the end of a Southeastern Asia tour like we were doing, and since most of the tourists in that area are Chinese—and since China only allowed their citizens out of the country a few weeks before our trip (not enough time for most people to start planning a vacation)—we really didn't have to fight crowds at all. Plus, I personally believe that many people ‘broke the habit’ of traveling during the pandemic and have yet to start back up again.
Where are the massive hoards of people? I don’t see them.
Couple this with our guide, Tola, very smartly taking us to the hidden pond outside of the gate (which indeed I had read about before going), in total, there was only one other person there at sunrise besides our family and maybe a dozen other people trickled in by the time we started walking toward the main temple complex.
Tola took SO many photos for us and liked to do trick shots and poses. By the end, Dantan was so tired of posing for pictures—well, I guess we all were. I think we have as many photos of our 1 day in Siem Reap as our 10 days in Thailand!
To quote the managing owner of our hotel when we asked him if the sunrise was not to be missed? “That would be like going to New York and missing the Statue of Liberty or Paris and missing the Eiffel Tower.” I am so grateful he said that because it was the extra push we needed to commit to the experience and the thing I was most worried about—the crowds—weren’t there at all. Being there with my parents made it extra special.
We finally made it inside the complex! But I’ll make another post all about Angkor Wat.