Sunset at Bakheng Hill

Having been told that it was a "must see", having been only two of six people out of our group of fifty to do it, having climbed the hill and then the stairs of the temple in the heat and humidity to witness it, I can say with certainty that it was a complete bust.


(Did I mention the temple had really, really steep, narrow, tall stairs with no railings.)

Before making the ascent we had thought we would see the setting sun shining on the towers of Angkor Wat. Once up there we realized everyone was awaiting the sunset on Tonle Sap Lake. Looking at the haze and other atmospherics, with a seaman's eye in an instant we knew the setting sun was not going to shine on Angkor Wat nor was it going to set majestically into the lake. The sun would descend into a dense cloud bank near the horizon. The transition from day to night would be quick and uninteresting.

 

Since knowledge is power we used our knowledge to power us down the temple steps and the hill ahead of the crowd. (We had always planned to get down those steps before dark!)

Of course when we rejoined the rest of our tour group at dinner, the six of us who went told everyone it was a "life-changing moment", "something that surpassed words", "out of respect for those who did not go we wanted to downplay the experience", etc.

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