I am a bit behind…. Today was such an amazing day…. It started with Angkor Wat at sunrise, but that meant getting up at 4:30 am and being out of the hotel by 8. Then we ended the day with Angkor at sunset. So to say it was a full day would be an understatement :o)!
So I also took far more pictures today than I have on other days. Because of that, I need to go through and filter a couple of ’em out so that I don’t post the ones that are out of focus, etc. But believe me, it will be worth the wait, the images are amazing! I’m gonna stop typing now and get to editing photos and uploading so that you all can see ’em. worst case, they will be up and available tomorrow.
In the Mean time, I have to get some sleep :o)!
Ok, so here it is… I have time to upload the pictures…. there are a lot of ’em so bear with me :o)! We went to Angkor Wat early in the morning so that you can catch the sunrise. It’s pretty amazing to watch. The sun comes up and changes colors as it casts its light on the temple. It is crowded for sunrise with lots of tourists, many of them making noise when it feels as if you should be quiet and experience the sunrise. So you take a bunch of pictures from just inside the main gate (after using the causeway to cross the huge moat). If you are quick about it, you can then move up the causeway (inside the compound) and get some pictures looking over the lotus pond.
Then you go inside and walk around…. There are relief carvings that go all the way around the temple with towers in the center. Climbing the to the upper levels is a real trick. The stairs are so steep that you can touch the stair in from of your face as you are climbing… its only about 2 feet away. On the way down, there is only one staircase out of twelve that has a railing and that isn’t the sturdiest. But it is a real treat. Such an amazing sight.
Then we went back for sunset at Angkor Wat. Another awesome experience. The light is phenomenal and you can take pictures over the other pond that has no lotus and get a great reflection of the temple in the water. The one thing that you need to deal with both at sunrise and sunset are the mosquitos. I got eaten alive :o)! But that is why you take malaria pills ;o)….