We woke up at 4:30 yesterday morning to catch the sun rise over Angkor Wat and I am so glad that we did! When I was here last year, we didn't get much of a sunrise at all; It was too muggy and overcast. As you can see from the photo above, this was not at all the case this time around. In fact, it was probably the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
We hired a fantastic tour guide to take us around for the day. After hitting up Angkor Wat, we saw Ta Prohm, which is especially spectacular in the early morning light. Also referred to as "Tombraider Temple," this is partially where the film was shot. 
The trees were left to give a feel for what the entire temple complex looked like when it was rediscovered in the mid-19th Century, but also because the structural integrity has become so dependent on the trees, that most of the temple would collapse were they to be removed. This temple is probably my favorite. In the morning mist, it looks eerily beautiful; Unlike anything else I've ever seen.
The trees were left to give a feel for what the entire temple complex looked like when it was rediscovered in the mid-19th Century, but also because the structural integrity has become so dependent on the trees, that most of the temple would collapse were they to be removed. This temple is probably my favorite. In the morning mist, it looks eerily beautiful; Unlike anything else I've ever seen.From there, we made our way to Bantay Srei, another favorite. Bantey Srei means Citadel of the Woman, and was built as a shrine to the Hindu goddess, Lakshmi. It features the most intricate 
carvings of any temple in the complex, and the use of different layers of sandstone gives it natural yellow, pink, brown and red shades. The spectacular blue sky yesterday and the vividly green grass (the rainy season is just beginning here) made it absolutely perfect.
Of course, with the three of us, there is constant comedy along the way. Fritz decided to try to teach our Khmer guide some key Yiddish words. For example, to shvitz, because we were certainly doing a lot of that.
Climbing to the top of some very tall temples via extremely steep, narrow, and uneven steps was fun on the way up, but terrifying on the way down, especially for Sneaky who is afraid of heights. We had to coax him down with the promise of cold beverage.
We returned to our room at 1:00 in the afternoon, feeling like it was 5:00 p.m. It was in all likelihood one of the most productive Satudays any of us have had in a long time!
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