Angkor Wat
April 21st, 2018
We woke up this morning just after 4:30am and journeyed through the darkness to be amongst the first tourists through the gates of Angkor Wat. As the crowds gathered around us on the edge of the reflecting pool, a sense of shared anticipation began to build. Before sunrise, we had seen very little of our surroundings but then the sky began to lighten – to dusky rose, then peach, then brilliant gold and finally to clear turquoise – behind the iconic silhouette of the temple.
With the colours mirrored by the water and the heat of the day beginning to burn through the morning chill, and despite the throngs of people, Maureen and I felt a deep sense of calm. We’re still feeling it now, back at the hotel. It was actually quite romantic – not bad after nearly 40 years of marriage! We spent the rest of the morning admiring galleries lined with fabulous mythological reliefs before returning to our garden-view room for a siesta.
April 22nd, 2018
This morning saw another pre-dawn start, but this time we left Angkor Wat to the sunrise crowds and visited another of the park’s ancient temples, Ta Prohm. Partially reclaimed by the forest, everywhere you looked the pale roots of encroaching fig trees snaked their way through crumbling doorways and into sunken courtyards. I felt like the explorers I read about as a boy, discovering incredible lost kingdoms hidden deep in the jungle.
Unlike those explorers, though, we got to treat our aching bones to a traditional Khmer massage at the Sofitel spa afterwards – the perfect end to the perfect trip.