Bayon temple

Got up at 430 and had a magic tuktuk ride in the cool darkness to see Angkor Wat sunrise. While the sunrise didn't eventuate it was nice to see the pre dawn life, driving past a cyclists morning fire where he had camped in the forest was my favourite sneak peek.

Thousands come to see the Angkor sunrise, and I gladly slipped all the humanity and headed to Bayon temple. Being there at around 7 meant that it was very quiet, and perhaps this is part of the reason that I loved it so much

Built in the late 12 th century I think that it is one of the first temples, build by the king Jayavarman  VII.

I found these massive stone faces to by very moving, and spent quiet a lot of time here. The actual feat of carving and then building these statues is so impressive.

 But beyond that there was something so moving about the face.

I was then able to move to other temples in the area, and had time in the forest, feeling alone and quiet ( but always staying to the path because there are still active land mines!)

You come upon so many glorious pools

Buddhas, small

And large, all of which are lovingly tended and visited.

My driver was a lovely man can robin, who had great English and so gave me a guided tour as well

He explained that the elephant terrace was a place where the king and queen would sit up on high and receive the visiting people, who came on elephants, what a fabulous scene to imagine.

By now it was 9 am, so time for breakfast, which I invited Robin to join me for. In return he shared with me his story, how he has worked to pay off his motor bike and now is paying off his tuktuk. His mum is ill and he must pay for her medicine, she is 63 and here that is quiet old. His next goal is to study English and computers. As we talked I watched a woman bring her sleeping baby out on a pillow, and all the other mums came and looked at it and smiled and then she placed it in a hammock between two trees and tied the top over. The baby would sleep there while the mum worked in the coffee shacks.