I arrived in Siem Reap late afternoon on Monday. That night I met some people at the hostel who were going to the temples in the morning (Actually does getting up at 4 count as the morning or the night?). Upon talking to some people, I discovered that a popular experience of Angkor Wat was watching the sunrise over the morning pool in Angkor Wat. Even though it meant getting up at an ungodly hour I decided to go.
When I woke up Tuesday morning it was pouring. Did I really want to get up and stand in the dark, in the rain, just to see a sunset? I decided that if I didn’t go then it meant getting up early the next day, which was something I didn’t want to do. The person I was supposed to meet didn’t show so I jumped in a tuk tuk with a different person from the hostel and off we went.
The temples were amazing. I was particularly lucky because there were not many tourists the entire time I was there. Both the hour I woke up and the rain during the better part of the morning helped deter other tourists, and gave me an uncharacteristically private experience. I’m sure the pictures will speak better than my rambling words.