Sunrise at Ankor Wat

         We arrived around 4:55 a.m. greeted by the light of a full moon in the western sky. Disembarking the tour van, we were welcomed with a soft, "Would you like hot coffee, only $1 per cup?" This was actually a refreshing change from the previous day's frontal assault of desperate book and trinket sellers in the same location, to whom, incidentally, I wasted 2,000 Thai Baht on an assortment of books and t-shirts- a giant rip off, but feeding the group for a few days was worth knowingly being ripped off. But I digress...

A polite, "No, thank you," and we continued on our way. Ascending the first set of stairs, I noticed a flashlight began lighting our way from the right. The only thing I could thing about was when I was at Fort Bragg on Sicily Drop Zone for a night jump. "Hey, you, turn that light off...get your nods down, and move out at the double time."

These are general things you'll hear during a night jump and you see a light shining along the way as a young paratrooper, tired and hungry from a long day of preparations moves out to his assault objectives. Of course, the great non-commissioned officers are never afraid to correct wayward troopers and their failure to use their technology to their advantage. However, as this was almost a full moon and the light of the moon was nearly overhead but just to our rear, there really was no need to light the way. These facts failed to make the trip any less entertaining.

"I am Rambo, I take you to good spot," was the first thing our young, self-appointed guide said. He was, at most, 5'6" tall and all of 100 pounds, wearing skinny jeans and a checkered patterned dress shirt. As he lit the path and shuttled Shara and her parents around puddles from the previous night's rain, I observed from behind, snapping a few photos of the moonlit Ankor Wat.

"You want brefas, want coffee? Come see me, my name Rambo, shop number eight." The eight indicated the number of his shop set up in the group of shops in the foreground of Ankor Wat where we'd be watching the sunrise.

As we settled into the darkness, we heard very little noise, other than the clamor of sounds coming from the shop owners preparing for the day's impending madness. There were few other tourists, only those stupid enough to wake before 4:30 to secure a good photo spot in front of the pond reflecting the splendor of Ankor Wat. Other than about 15 others, we were fairly secluded, but the peace did not last.

"When you are going about any action, remind yourself what nature the action is. If you are going to bathe, picture to yourself the things which usually happen in the bath: some people splash the water, some push, some use abusive language, and others steal. Thus you will more safely go about this action if you say to yourself, "I will now go bathe, and keep my own mind in a state conformable to nature." And in the same manner with regard to every other action. For thus, if any hindrance arisesin bathing, you will have it ready to say, "It was not only to bathe that I desired, but to keep my mind in a state conformable to nature; and I will not keep it if I am bothered at things that happen" The Enchiridion by Epictetus.

I wandered away for a bit to explore and found a place on the south side of the pathway, near a smaller pond that saw only me and a grazing horse as its guests. Though the view was not as spectacular as on the northern side of the path, where I left Shara and her parents, it made up for what it lacked in view with an ambiance of peace. The horse grazed for a bit then wandered up to me, nuzzling me for some attention while I took in the solitary view- here I was at one of the Seven Wonders of the World, all alone except for my new-found equine friend, how amazing was that?

After a few minutes, I returned to my previous spot to discover that 400 of our closest friends or so had arrived during my 10 minute absence. After Shara and Henry, Shara's father, prevented further encroachment of a very zealous Japanese tourist, I was able to re-join my group to witness the various stages of the sunrise over Ankor Wat.

For being a very crowded 25-50 meter stretch of so-called "tourist hell," it was actually a wonderful and peaceful experience. We all came to see the same thing, and judging by the whizzing and clicking of shutters, all received the things for which they came. The magic of the moment manifested itself when the sun peaked out from behind Ankor Wat's base to illuminate the morning sky and blind out our overworked cameras, signaling the end to a fantastic and early morning.