sunrise with the gods

This morning I got up at 4:30 am, along with Alexis and Morgan, so we could get our butts to see the sunrise at Bayon, one of the many temples of Angkor Wat. Since the morning is the coolest time to explore the temples, it was a great surprise to us all to find that Bayon was deserted! The fact that it is surrounded by trees probably helps detour visitors from making it a sunrise spot...which is precisely why we chose to go there! There is something magical about walking into a temple free of guards or tourists when the mist of the morning is just clearing. I felt like we had just stumbled upon an ancient secret-it was just us and the gods... a great way to start the day!

As you can tell, we've made it out of Ban Lung and into Siem Reap. From Ban Lung we stopped in Kratie, where we took a boat and saw the slowly becoming extinct Irrawaddy dolphins. The dolphins weren't too spectacular, but I've never seen dolphins living in a river before so it was worth the trip. From Kratie we took a 10 hr bus trip to Siem Reap. For those of you that are fond of Cambodian ballads, you'd be happy to know that the tv on the bus blared them for the whole trip, including words on the bottom of the screen in case you want to sing along.

I wasn't sure what to expect driving into Siem Reap. I expected a lot of guesthouses and backpackers, but I guess I had no idea that there would be a ton of really nice hotels and restaurants! Staying in those nice hotels are loads of Japanese, Korean, and other people with enough money to stay in luxury while visiting Angkor Wat. The city's boom has been great for the economy and has been providing the locals with lots of work and opportunities.

The temples of Angkor Wat were amazing! Again, I wasn't expecting much because I didn't want to be disappointed...but all I have to say is WOW! The temples, which are all that are left of Cambodia's ancient Khmer empire, spread out for miles around Siem Reap. We bought a 3 day pass to explore, but could have easily spent a week exploring. The greatest part about the temples is that not much of them are roped off, giving anyone inclined the opportunity to climb amongst the old ruins, through the old hallways and rooms and over all the rocks laying around. I'm sure in a few years areas will become off limits, but for now it is a free for all. The freedom to explore makes each person feel like they are discovering the ruins themselves.

We have finished our explorations of the temple. Yesterday the three of us went to a lake frequented by locals and taught 3 Cambodian guys how to play marco polo, which they loved. We then ate three whole, but small, chickens (bones, beaks, and claws included) with rice.

Tomorrow we start volunteering at a center for street kids. We will be holding creative arts workshops, teaching English and helping out where needed. We are planning on volunteering for a week, but we'll see how it goes.