My very first conversation in Siem Reap, Cambodia (other than "yes" and "thank you" respectively to the visa and immigration folks) was with David, my tour guide for the temples of Angkor. After the routine hello, nice to meet you, how was your flight small talk, our conversation went like this:
David: I pick you up tomorrow to see sunrise at Angkor Wat.
Me: Okay great, what time?
David: I get you at 5 o' clock.
Me: In the morning?
David: Yes...that is when the sun comes up.
Me: Right...okay then (smartass).

But let me backtrack a bit. I arrived in Siem Reap yesterday. It was the first flight I have ever been on that landed 40 minutes early. Congratulations Lao Airlines, you have sufficiently redeemed yourself.

The best part of yesterday came with the fact that I am staying at an actual hotel. Not a guesthouse, not a hostel, a hotel. It is a bit of an odd hotel...but it's a hotel none the less. By odd I mean that there is a fountain in my room. An actual nine foot tall fountain. Okay....but it also has a lovely pool, decent internet connection, and a shower that has...wait for it...hot water (which is a bit temperamental at times but it mostly works).

Okay, back to the story. When I got up at 4:30am this morning, all I could think was - this better freaking be worth it. David picked me up right on time and we set off in the pitch black very early morning. From what I could see, we were the only ones awake at that godforsaken hour. We drove for about 20 minutes, chatting a bit, but, let's be honest, it was just too early for decent conversation. We then came to a stop. We parked in, what looks to me, like the middle of someone's field. In the middle of nowhere. And it's still pitch black out. Honestly, I was thinking - oh god, is this the end? Am I going to be murdered by a total stranger in some random Cambodian field? My poor mother....

I believe (because you are reading this entry) that you can assume (correctly) that I was, in fact, not murdered in a field. David and I got out of the car and, with the aid of his trusty flashlight, he led me over to a small body of water (although it was hard to tell, being very dark and all). He told me to stand here, wait for the sun, and he will wait for me over there. He points to absolutely nothing across the field. Uh, okay.

So I waited. And, swear to god, in about 10 minutes time, I was surrounded by about 200 Asian people and 100 French people. All with big ass cameras. And big ass tripods. All literally trying to push me out of the way (one French lady actually put her hand on my shoulder and pushed). Remember my three foot radius rule? I guess I'm going to have to explain it to her....too bad I don't speak French.

Anyway....the sun came up. I'm not going to lie to you, it was breathtaking. Worth getting up at 4:30 in the morning and traipsing into a deserted field with a flashlight and I man I hardly know.

After sunrise and finding David exactly where he said he would be (random spot on the other side of the field), we went in to explore Angkor Wat. At this point, I could give you some long winded history spiel, but I'm tired. So if you are interested, just google it. Very, very briefly, Angkor Wat is the largest temple in the world. It was built in the early 12th century and was the capital city of the Khmer empire. It was the largest pre-industrial city in the world and was supposed to have a population of one million people. That's it. Google the rest. I will just say that Angkor Wat is one of the places that I have always wanted to visit, and it didn't let me down. It made my jaw drop open in wonder. The pictures, sadly, will not do it justice, but it is stunning.

After Angkor Wat, we headed over to Ta Prohm, a fantastic place where the giant tree roots are literally taking over the temple. Everyone calls Ta Prohm the Tomb Raider Temple, as parts of the movie were filmed here. It was wicked cool despite the bazillion Koreans with their big ass cameras. We stopped at some smaller temples on the way back to the hotel, but I have no idea what the names of them were. They were blissfully free of Koreans though. :)

Back at the hotel for a swim (hooray!), some lunch (found a fantastic lunch spot), and I needed to head to the market. I was on a mission for three things - face soap, conditioner, diet coke. Face soap because I was about to run out, conditioner because I ran out four days ago (the horror) and could not, despite a valiant effort, find any in Laos, and diet coke just because it's diet coke. Hence, the mission. I headed to the mini mart across the street and spent over an hour just looking around in wonder. Cuttle fish chips....deep fried lotus seeds...I will have to go back next time with my camera.

We hit the road again in the late afternoon to go back to Angkor Wat and watch the sun go down. Again, magic. Pure true magic. I am in absolute awe of Angkor Wat.


P.S. I took 445 photographs today...why are you only seeing about 30? Too tired to wait for more to upload....will FB more of them when I get home :)

P.P.S. I ate a banana today. This may not be big news to some (people do eat bananas all the time), but most friends and family know that I. Do. Not. Eat. Bananas. But I did. And it was okay.