Angkor Wat Sunrise

Friday, September 30, 2022

 Pocket Full of Sunshine 

It rained all night. I could hear the thunder and pouring rain when I was turning in my sleep. I was praying that God should help us with good weather for the sunrise in the morning. Sam, our guide, was supposed to pick us up at he hotel at 4:30 in the morning. We had to buy the two day tickets to Angkor Wat ant then proceed to the sunrise viewing area. When we came out of the hotel in the dark I kept looking up into the dark sky to see what the day holds.

We walked slowly on the grassy area towards Angkor Wat in the dim light of Sam's flashlight. The ground seemed a bit soggy but we didn't feel any raindrops on our heads. So far so good. Would it be a gray morning or would the sun peek out? We settled in front of a small pond with few other tourists.

There were patches of grass here and there that were like soft carpet keeping the mud away. To our amazement we were able to even sit on the ground and wait for the sun to come out. 

A small animal was walking by. I couldn't tell if it was a baby monkey, kitten or a puppy in the dark.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalms 19:1

Lo and behold! The sun came out with glorious colors and the reflection on the pond made the morning magical. The Maker of heaven and Earth declared His glory!

The silhouette of Angkor Wat seamlessly blending into the trees in the horizon while the clouds added to the drama made the waking up worth it. We took so many beautiful pictures and the other tourists started to move towards Angkor Wat. Sam told us to wait till the actual sun comes out round out of the clouds(his words). He said people usually leave before the full display. 

 

He was right! It did look pretty to see the brightness of the sun reflected in the pool. He has two sons and I have two sons. So he joked that the sky is like us(with the reflection there were two suns). We were starting to realize that Sam was the king of kadi jokes!

This little kitten kept following me!

Sam is the best guide we could hope for. He is a great photographer and he knew the right spots and poses to take the perfect pictures.

Papu sat outside listening to music while I went into Angkor Wat. All the people who came to watch the sunset had already gone through the corridors. When we went we were the only people there. It felt like the whole place was built just for us. It was so cool to imagine how bustling this place would have been when the kings came to visit and ten thousand people were living inside the complex 

Each long corridor was adorned with world's longest murals. It depicted scenes from epics. The absaras looked so beautiful!

 

When I learnt about Angkor Wat I was very fascinated by the architecture. It was a major feat like the pyramids if we consider the tools they had at that time to build such a massive complex. I really wanted to visit and see with my own eyes but I was not sure how that might happen. Danny was not very keen on visiting the countries East of India. He dismissed the idea when I mentioned Thailand or Cambodia. So I was wondering if I would ever be able to visit Angkor Wat.

Planning this trip with Papu and combining Cambodia with Thailand was a dream come true!!!

When I was in person at Angkor Wat, looking at the beautiful carvings, the ruins, the moss, the bright green grass...all of it...

I just wanted to swoop up the whole place in my arms and kiss it!

The ruins look poetic!

Look at that green!

We walked along the floating platform to the exit. This floating platform rises and sinks with the water level in monsoon making it possible to cross the moat without getting wet.

Everything is big in Cambodia! Blessed land of God! Garden of Eden!

Papu was saying that we should tell Satish anna about the huge coconuts. Maybe he will plant one in his garden.

Believe it or not, we did so much already and it is only breakfast time! Time moves slowly in Cambodia and the day seems to have more than 24 hours.

We were eating breakfast and there was a guy sitting in a table away from us. I just asked him if the food was good. He started talking and then he moved closer to the table next to us because there was no one else at the restaurant. He was telling some fascinating things about his life. He was so young yet so rich that he already retired and was traveling around the world. It was interesting to meet Andrew!

Amen!