That touristy thing

You can't get more touristy than watching sunrise and/or sunset in Siem Reap. Lonely planet tells you where would be a good place to catch the sunset, and just about every guide book has a recommendation to make. Like an abiding tourist thus, we made our way up to Phnom Bakheng, alongside many others who were making the ascent briskly.

The steps to the mountain top were incredibly steep, almost vertical. But that didn't deter even old folks - and there were many of them - whom I suspect would normally think twice about taking the stairs.

Traffic up was ceaseless, and I wondered how long more before the overcrowded hilltop could accept no more persons. But somehow the numbers kept swelling and people continue to be making their way up.

It wasn't a brilliant sunset that we caught. But at least from where we sat, we got an unobstructed view of the land that stretched to the horizon. When I looked behind me, all I could see was a wall of human forms beyond which was another wall, and another, and another...

Sunrise

Catching the sunrise - which, apparently, is an impressive sight with Angkor Wat emerging from the morning fog - was part of our game plan: the word to highlight is plan. The plan - probably doomed right from the start - was quickly ditched (with little regret, as a sleepy mind gives in to nothing else, not even to promises of astounding grandeur, no) when at 6 plus a.m. in the morning we found ourselves more than an hour late.

God knows how long the hapless staff from the inn had been knocking on our door. He was too respectful to open the door himself even though - to our sleepy surprise - our keys were left in the keyhole the whole night. While Lisa and Xy remained snugly tugged in bed - there were some murmurings, i think - I followed the guy down (having failed to convince him in English of our decision to forget about the trip) to inform the driver - who must have been waiting for a long time - that we were not going to see the sunrise anymore.

A new time was decided. I went back upstairs, adjusted the alarm, went back to sleep.

9:00am, or 8:00am?

It seemed one blunder or mishap must often be followed by another. For only after we came down, much later, expecting to meet our driver did I realise that we'd come down one hour earlier (Singapore time is an hour ahead).

I was promptly rebuked for depriving my roomates of another precious hour of sleep. Injustice!