Sunrise at Angkor Wat

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It’s pitch blackwhen you get there and the walk along the degraded stone path is a little frightening. You make it through the gates and the monk blessings and emerge in an open area surrounded by darkness that conceals the magic within its depths. You hear voices and you walk blindly toward them, and there are many people sitting and waiting. Somebody turns on a flashlight and reveals that you are also in the company of millions of mosquitoes all preying on the flesh of eager tourists.

People come over and offer you breakfast and coffee, and the server tells you to come and find him at stall number five. His name is Harry Potter. (His competitor’s name is Lady Gaga).

Suddenly there is a large dark silhouette in front of you and you’re face to face with Angkor Wat. Cameras begin flashing non-stop for the next hour as the sun slowly rises to reveal the majestic temple. It’s an artist’s dream. The beams of sunlight are like gifts from the heavens flowing from the rainbow sky. Witnessing this makes you feel like the luckiest person in the universe.

If I had to pick the most important thing for me to see in my trip to Southeast Asia it would be sunrise at Angkor Wat. I can’t remember how long I’ve wanted to see it, but its image has been gracing my conscience for some time, just waiting to become a reality. Was it worth the 4 am wake up call, the e-coli, the insane tuk tuk drivers and all the 5 months of nonsense in South Korea leading up to it? Most definitely. It’s breathtaking!

You’ll find a lot of people who don’t share my enthusiasm, and there are some good reasons for that. Sunrise at Angkor Wat has a lot of hype, but there are also a lot of annoyances.

First of all, Angkor Wat is there all the time and still looks beautiful at 9 am, noon, or any other time in the day. Do you really need the 4 am wakeup call? Not necessarily.

Secondly, there are a lot of people there at that time, and it’s a challenge to get decent photos because people are always in the way.

Thirdly, it’s a pretty long wait in the dark getting eaten alive before anything starts to happen. This time could perhaps be better spent sleeping.

My recommendation is to do it anyway. If you’re disappointed, c’est la vie. But if you’re not disappointed it will probably be one of the most spectacular sights you will ever see.

I will offer some procedural recommendations though. Leave the main gathering area before anyone else does. You will get amazing unobstructed photos inside the temple and not have to spend an extra hour waiting for people to get out of the way. After you spend an hour or two exploring the temple, the sun is in a great spot where you can go back to the front and get your photos with some incredible light. The crowds are virtually non-existent at that time so you can get whatever angle you like without people’s heads and cameras being in the shot.

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