Mud seeped into my shoes, squishing between my toes. We crept in the dark through a swarm of people, all facing the same direction, towards Angkor Wat. We weaved under elbows and backpacks, and made our way to the front, black skies turned to a light grey; the sun had begun to rise over the famous temple ruin.
Stuck in the crowd, we attempted to take photos without body parts in the frame. We reached over heads, through bodies, all the while trying not to slip in the mud. My friend climbed up on another friend’s shoulders for a better view. A rotation of cameras began with strangers passing up their cameras in an orderly line for a shot of the temple that they could barely see from their position within the hive.
Once the three of us were content with our rite-of-passage-sunrise-over-Angkor Wat shots, we sped back out the way we came, stealing away from the crowds in the early morning light and making our way up to the temple and away from them all.
As the hundreds stared at the temple, trying to unravel its mysteries and soak in its beauty, we entered it. Not a soul in sight; the place was ours.
We raced around like children exploring a new playground. We’d taken selfies in every corner of the temple before the first tourists arrived.
Like ghosts we escaped through the back gates and made our way around the outer walls.
Exhausted and satisfied, we left the temple in search of our tuk-tuk. We boarded our ride and asked our confused driver to take us to breakfast. With more tourists still arriving to catch what was left of the early morning light, we smiled at each other for escaping the masses.
A breakfast of eggs, which turned out to be pancakes with bits of metal in them, was left untouched. With our stomachs grumbling, we again beat our driver to the punch as we climbed back up onto our tuk-tuk. He was definitely starting to regret accepting our fare, obviously not expecting our hyperactive sightseeing productivity.
But it was time to become Lara Croft in Tomb Raider at Ta Prohm. The movie has made Ta Prohm one of the more popular temples for tourists in Angkor Wat, so we wanted to get there early. As we entered the temple, we felt we were entering a jungle instead. The forest has seamlessly taken over the ruins, blending in to create something otherworldly.
The sun was now well and truly up, but we only bumped into the occasional other tourist, those who hadn’t visited Angkor Wat for sunrise. Every time we encountered another person we changed direction. Quickly, we were on our own on a journey of discovery.
We covered every inch of Ta Prohm, until our stomachs begged us for breakfast. So naturally, we followed their calls and searched for our driver to take us home. Again he was surprised by our choice, but then was ecstatic when he realised he had gotten out of a couple of hours of the tour we had negotiated earlier in the dark.
Back at our hostel, everyone else was still sound asleep in their bunks, leaving us alone to enjoy breakfast and recap the joy of our morning of exploration.