That we had to get up before 5am, pay through the nose (though it’s still cheap compared to prices back home!) for a private car and spend 90 minutes driving here was all forgotten the moment we saw stepped foot onto the Great Wall.

It was compounded by the fact that we were the only ones here — in fact, the first ones here for the day — and could not see anyone in either direction. At least for a time.

We decided in Mutianyu as Badaling — the most popular spot — is always busy, no matter what. Simatai, the closest unrestored area, was a bit too far and even though it is “the real deal” it doesn’t have the look of the Great Wall. It’s more like walking on rubble so our choice in the end was probably the best compromise.

The day we visited was also the day I feel extremely ill; luckily though, I started feeling sick while in the car on the way back. I made it back to our hotel, barely, but since we’d assigned little else for the rest of the day nothing was lost. I thank my body for holding out long enough to avoid an extremely uncomfortable and embarrassing incident.

The colours in this series of shots I took are great — the pinky-orange of the sun hitting the bricks makes for beautiful colouring. Shots I took later, as buses of tourists began to arrive, are far duller as the sun began to hide behind clouds.

We really had everything working for us on this day. The ride up on the chairlift was brilliant — our feet skimmed along the treetops — and amazingly silent. We had the Great Wall all to ourselves (which, in China, is no easy task!) with an incredible sunrise. The ride down on the toboggan, which must have been at least two kilometres long, was great fun too. Perfect.

Relaxing on a junk, watching the sun rise over Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.

This has to be a great memory of quite possibly one of the most relaxing mornings I’ve ever had. Partly because I had no choice–my destination was controlled by the ship’s captain–and partly because it’s such a relaxing way to start the day.

Besides the quiet rumble of the motor (and other nearby motors) it was nearly silent and everyone on deck was enjoying the sunrise. A really great morning.

Junks meeting in the early morning sun. Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.

I’ve mentioned that Ha Long Bay was the reason I wanted to see Vietnam, and I think this picture makes it obvious why it is such a popular destination. The thing is, this shot doesn’t do the view justice, and I didn’t take any photo that came close to capturing how beautiful it is.

The famed temple of Angkor Wat at sunrise; we woke at 4am to see this.

Waking at 4am was not as big an issue as it may seem, as we were still on Melbourne time making it feel more like 7am. A procession of cars, motorbikes and tuk tuks makes its way here every morning just to view the sunrise.

It’s totally worth it, as you can see.

This shot is a panorama from roughly twelve photos (I can’t recall exactly how many) and captures the feel really well. It may seem that I’m standing in front of a moat, but the moat is actually 100m or more behind us; the water in front is one of two small reflecting pools. No one gathers at the other.

A small almost-village has formed just to the left, with people hawking souvenirs, food and early morning coffee. For an almost-deserted Angkor Wat, we waited around for 20 minutes and very nearly had the place to ourselves.

Day Two – 2nd Nov 2008
Siem reap
21:05

Early morning, this morning. The alarm woke us at 4am. We opted to lie in for 15 minutes then readied ourselves. We headed downstairs to a black room. Locked in! After fumbling for a short while in almost total darkness, I found a buzzer. I pressed it and it buzzed… right next to us.

Moments later, a young man emerged from a room bleary eyed and half dressed. He apologised and let us out.

Our tuk tuk driver was the same as yesterday. We drove towards the temple of Angkor Wat, some way out of town. The town is eerily quiet at this time, in stark contrast to the other 20 hours of the day. Our way was blocked by some road works but we detoured through side streets, right besides some brothels.

Closer to the temple we noticed the steady procession of headlights all heading to the same place, with the same thing in mind.

We walked into the temple, view difficult to see, before heading to the spot where everyone takes “the shot”. I took many “the shots” as the sun rose, magnificently, behind the large temples. An amazing sight and the atmosphere is exciting.

Shortly after, we headed inside Angkor Wat itself. Inside are ridiculously steep staircases—something we would see many times before the day was out—and some interesting buildings.

Angkor Wat explored—and one does feel like a 19th century explorer—we moved on to Angkor Thom, the main city. Thom has many buildings inside. One of the largest is Bayon, which has many (thousands) of faces carved. All are large and almost none are still complete. The views inside the complex are wonderful and the feeling of exploration you get when watching “Indiana Jones” movies washes over you. Well, me at least.

Moving on, we say another temple, but not before I squished a half inch long ant under my t-shirt. This temple—Ta Keo—has steep stairs and was never finished. We didn’t stay long.

The last we saw is “Ta Prohm”. This temple is being overgrown by trees, and is famous for being in the “Tomb Raider” movies. Regardless, the way the trees are clawing at the buildings, almost trying to rip them from the Earth, is an amazing sight to behold. The jungle is rebelling.

And it is jungle, which can be easy to forget. If you stand still the sounds, smells and feel of the place reminds you quick smart. It may not be the Amazon, but jungle is jungle.

Leaving Ta Prohm, we were faced with not a simple dusty track, but a flooded, muddy waterway. Enterprising motorbike riders offered $1 rides to avoid walking in the water. We declined. Instead, some locals had put sandbags in the water and we hopped from bag to bag to escape.

Our tuk tuk driver took us back into town; we killed some time in the rabbit warrens of the old market. While trying to avoid the smell of rotting meat, we bought some sandals. And probably paid too much.

Again on the tuk tuk, we headed to a silk farm via an in-construction road, trying to stop choking on dust. The farm was fascinating but the only thing I wanted—a silk tie—was out of stock. Justine bought a cushion cover.

In town, we both had Khmer curries for dinner. Both weren’t bad. An early night, as we’re trying not to stay up too late this time around.

Photos taken today: 619
Photos taken to date: 837