Cambodia....Day Three or "Julia's Birthday"

We got to bed early the previous evening, but somehow that didn't quite prepare us for the 4.30am wake-up alarm.  I couldn't care less what anyone says, it's just not normal.  Anyhow, it was Julia's birthday and we were off to do what has to be one of the most romantic things on the planet....watch the sun rise over Angkor Wat.

Fila had arranged for our remorque's (think moped with a covered cart on the back) to pick us up at 5.15am and off we set in the relatively peaceful traffic of early morning Siem Reap.  We soon realised that if you are up at that time and you want to find yourself in a traffic jam, all you have to do is ask to be taken to Angkor Wat!  Yes, the world and its dog was on its way to see the sunrise.  Ho hum, we thought, we have each other and it's HUGE....plus Fila had given us an insider tip on where to stand.

Sat waiting for the sun

On arrival we noted the number on the back of the driver's jacket and decanted from our carriage, bleary eyed and a little numb from the early hour.  He pointed to a spot where he would park and off we trotted.  Then weaved.  Then stopped, waited for the crowd to move and yes....you guessed it, there were hundreds of people around us already.  Still, the sun wasn't up and the heat was in the early 20s, so massive bonus.  It was pretty dark and the causeway up to the temple is not exactly ice-rink smooth, but after the odd stumble we arrived in the grounds and the breath caught in my throat.  It's just so impressive.  Then cynical Alex popped up, as we realised that YES we had an inside tip on the best place to watch the sun, but apparently all of Siem Reap is on the inside so NO it wasn't going to be a secret bolt-hole from the crowds.  Ho hum number 2 of the day :)

The Changing of the Colours

As we stood/sat/stood then jostled with the crowds and the vendors, selling everything from coffee to guide books (that we couldn't read in the dark), it was clear we would have to rely on our memories to edit some romance into the morning; because frankly it was like being in an Asian market.  No matter what the ancients had built and the solar system could throw at it, the sound of an elderly Chinese man hacking up a lung onto the ground just kills the mood don't you know?!  So we made the decision to leave a little early....avoid the crowds....get back in time for a nice birthday breakfast.  We still hadn't managed to have more than 10 minutes for a breakfast and so today seemed to be an opportunity not to be missed.

Not so fast..............remember we were a little bleary eyed and the way we only had a vague notion of where the remorque driver would park?  Well between the 1000 or so remorques it is bl**dy difficult to tell the difference of which is which.  Most of them lie down in their hammocks, rendering the numbers on the backs of their jackets useless and finally, we later found out, that the driver was somewhere else entirely and fast asleep well past our pick up time of 7am (the other driver woke him up at 7.30ish!)  So we just left and came home.....failing on leaving early, missing the actual sunrise over Angkor Wat and having spent 20 minutes searching for a driver that wasn't even there - all the while making Julia a grumpy little birthday girl.  Nicht Gut!

The sun rising over the moat surrounding Angkor Wat

At least we got our breakfast :)

Then a long pedal (35km) out to a temple in the middle of nowhere (which seems a trifle pointless to say as most of them are in the middle of nowhere!) and a 35km ride back.  I want to say more, I really do, but somehow today was trying its best to beat us.  The heat was terrible and Julia opted to take the bus home on the way back after lunch.  Probably for the best as the ride was on the lower end of the "enjoyment" scale.  The temple was full of wonderful examples of architectural skills, evidence of how court life was led and the exceptionally fine work that the carvers of the time could produce.....but we were just too hot to appreciate it properly.  Perhaps if we hadn't been up so early we would have had more mojo...but we didn't.

Palm Sugar Candy

A highlight of the ride was visiting a local village and seeing how the villagers produce palm sugar.  That was something inspirational, as once again we were shown how lucky we are to be able to simply pick the stuff off the shelves back home.  Here they climb unfeasibly thin bamboo ladders, up to the tops of the trees to milk the juice from the fruit (male and female producing different liquids for different uses) then bring it back down to be processed.  Trying the produce was also an education in how good things taste when they are fresh.

We wandered the village a little, but Julia and I felt a little intrusive and so didn't want to poke about too much, even though the locals didn't seem to mind.

His and Hers Palm Trees

Once we were back home we relaxed a little before Julia turned the balcony into a salon.  I nipped out for some bubbly and Nee, Julia and I had some lovely bubbles with some old-school (and Julia's favourite) parma ham and melon.  Now you know why I was so happy to have a well stocked supermarket down the road!

Consultation

Happy Happy Happy

Off to dinner and here our companions excelled themselves.  Aside from the fact that Colin had already saved my bacon by giving me one of the birthday cards he had found the night before in the market, he then produced a birthday card that everybody had signed and presented it to Julia.  She was touched, but not for the first time.  We all went for a lovely meal (bar the swarms of flying ants!) and then out comes a lovely Black Forest Gateau with a personalised birthday message for Julia.  The guides had organised this and again, Julia was touched.  We invited everyone back to the room/balcony for some more bubbly before bed and quite a few of the tour joined, which again, was lovely and really helped to put an upswing on a day that had started out as a bit of a damp squib.

Finally as we all sat on the balcony, Julia's parents called and one little girl had a HUUUUGE smile on her face.  She was so happy and this rounded off what will now be remembered as a lovely day.

PS - We'd love to know who called during the night......there was Jochen, Zsolt and Moni and one other person....but we can't remember!

Schwarzwaldtorte in Cambodia