This day was spent taking in the splendours of the Temples of Angkor. From sunrise to sunset.
At the start of our tour, we became aware of a small group who were following a very similar itinerary to ourselves but booked on a photography tour. It quickly became apparent what an intense and stretching tour this was. We got chatting to some of the group and were offered the chance to join them for a few hours at the start of our visit to the temples. They were off to the royal bathing pond - seen here - to capture the sunrise. Poor Jeff (the professional see his wonderful collection on Cambodia here - http://jeanfrancoisperigois.com/gallerycat/cambodia/ ) was at a loss to know how to advise me, with the limitations of my hand held Panasonic and hequickly left me to my own devises whilst lining everyone else up with their tripods and intensive debating over settings. Spending some time with them made for good entertainment as the eccentric French man waxed lyrical about tourists with selfie-sticks; and woe betide anyone who got in his line of view! I'm not sure how I would cope with the intensity and competition of such a trip, but would certainly need an upgrade of equipment to make it worthwhile. Nevertheless, it was a privilege to share experiences with the photography tour and also fit in an unscheduled trip to the most excellent Banteay Srei hindu temple.
A wonderful day, and I'm nowhere near sorting my photos from the day. I will never forget the delight of watching the sun rise over this ablutions pool and the realisation that getting up at 4.00 am (after just one hour of sleep - but that is another story) is no price at all to pay for such an experience. So I will leave the day here with my attempt to capture something of the splendour of that moment when the sun peeps over the horizon and bathes the sky and the water with bright golden light.
Mystical and magical. Such a beautiful place and beautifully photographed. Sounds like you had an interesting time here. Looking forward to seeing more of Cambodia Helen.
