4:45am came way to early, but against some half-hearted protests from Ken, we were doing Angkor Wat at sunrise. There had been varying opinions on whether it was worth it, but I figured we had come half-way around the world to see Angkor Wat, we might as well do the sunrise thing too. Oh, and by the way we were going on bicycles.  

We were out in front of our hotel at 5am, where Chiva was waiting with our bikes. All is good so far, except for one small thing...ok maybe one big thing, My bike was too tall. I could barely reach the pedals and could hardly get on/off without standing on my tippy toes. Chiva called and asked for another bike to be delivered, but we didn't have a lot of time to wait. So, off we went as the bike would be delivered along the way. I just hoped I didn't have to stop quickly!  

It was still dark and it took a few minutes to get comfortable alongside the tuk-tuk's, cars and tour buses and having no lights. But we did, and fit right into the throngs heading towards the temple. Frankly neither one of us had any idea that we would be part of the masses at 5am. It seemed like all of Siem Reap was on the way to see the sunrise. We could see the road leading into the temple and it was a steady stream of lights and people. We parked our bikes amongst hundreds of others and joined the rest of humanity on the path leading into Angkor Wat.

Since it was quite dark, Chiva had a light that helped us navigate the uneven stairs, then he showed us the best place to see the sunrise. So, we settled in and watched the masses jockeying for the best position. Around 6:15 the sky began to lighten, and slowly the silhouette of the amazing temple started to become visible. Over the next 30 minutes, the colors of the sky continued to change giving us a beautiful view of Angkor Wat. It was definitely worth the early morning wake up!

After taking many pictures, we decided it was time for a coffee and snack at the outdoor cafes next to where we had been standing. We still had a great view of the temple while enjoying an over-priced banana pancake, coffee and a coconut.  We met back up with Chiva, who took us into the temple. Even thought it looks big, I was still surprised at how large the structure was. We climbed up, over and around exploring the various parts with Chiva giving some details along the way. In one part of the temple there was a monk who was in a very small chamber, where when you pounded your chest it echoed off the walls. The monk pounded Ken's chest, which did echo off the wall and that meant we had warded off evil spirits. Not a bad thing when we are navigating the traffic on bikes!

We had learned about the bicycle tour from Tim, as one of their school's graduates, Seyha had started his own business. Chiva lives at the orphanage and works as a tour guide for Seyha. His brother, has HIV and also lives at the orphanage, as their mother died leaving the boys homeless. He shared how grateful he was to have a home and education, and his goal of continuing his education at the University. Just a wonderful example of the good things Tim and Wendy are doing.  

After Angkor Wat, we continued on our bikes to Angkor Thom a few km's away. Luckily, another bike had been delivered while we were watching the sunrise and I could now ride safely and comfortably! We both got very adept at dodging stopped tuk tuks, other bikes and walkers along the busy road. While the traffic seems chaotic, there is really an element of saneness to the process. Bikes and tuk tuks keep on the right side, cars, buses,mini-vans go around or wait behind until it safe to pass. The most interesting was entering a very narrow, barely one lane bridge into the Angkor Thom site where traffic from each side had to squeeze through. We got in line next to huge buses, taxis, cars motorbikes and made it through with no issue.

The Bayon temple within Angkor Thom was not as large as Angkor Wat, but was interesting as it has 216 happy faces carved into many of the large columns. The ruins were full of tourists with one particular bus of Korean's being particularly loud. Even though there are signs asking for respect, both in dress and actions, this group was not worrying about decorum. Kind of spoils the ambiance. 

It was now around 9am and it was starting to get hot and whomever hadn't been up for sunrise at Angkor Wat, seemed to now be as the roads were getting very busy. So, for us, we were ready to head back to the hotel. Chiva led the way, back towards Angkor Wat and we passed major traffic snarls leading into the site. We were so glad we were going the opposite direction and on bikes as we could easily get around the mess!! As were getting ready to forge our way into the one lane bridge, we came upon a Backroads bike tour (the tour group we did in Tuscany last May). We were so jealous as they were on their last day of a Vietnam/Cambodia 7 day bike trip. Next time!

We made it back to the hotel, merging into major traffic with no issue. Said goodbye to Chiva (suggested he contact Backroads as they hire lots of locals!) and relaxed by the pool with our coffee yummy breakfast. I really enjoy the stir fried noodles and vegis, which Ken thinks is just plain weird for breakfast. I love it!

We took a leisurely nap, read and took the rest of the morning to relax. Finally around 1ish, we decided we needed to haul ourselves up and grab a light lunch. We tuk tuked into town, found a pretty little french restaurant for a glass of wine, baguette and cheese. Not your normal Cambodian lunch, but it fit perfectly. We then walked until we found the Artisans complex, where the various types of artists are featured. Wood carving, lacquer, silk weaving and ceramics were all being done in various rooms. It was free to wander around and watch, and there was a large store that you could buy the items being made. It was quite clear these were not the cheap things being sold in Pub Street or the Night Market. 

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and getting in some reading. For dinner, we walked to an Italian place just a hundred yards from our hotel. Ken had some work he needed to do, so he worked and I get some magazine reading in for dinner. I am sure we looked very anti-social, but were happy with it!  

Tomorrow we do the floating village and then back to Saigon (HCMC)!