The grey-black rocks near the left-side Library on Angkor Wat’s west gate.

Now if you are to get a guide–and I strongly recommend that you do–get Vutha. He not only tells you everything and anything you want to know about Angkor Wat, he also allows you to not listen to him when you’re too tired; he knows enough about photography to take the prettiest pictures of you; he knows where to take the silliest pictures; and he smiles all the time! He is also smart and convincing enough to gently entice you to go inside one of the temples when you’re so sure your legs are too wobbly and achingly tired to go because the photo opportunities are just too beautiful to miss. Where else can you get a guide like that?  Email him, quickly: vuthavath@yahoo.com.

This is where our guide Vath Vutha took us to view the sunrise. It is the Library on the left facing the west gate of Angkor Wat.

Can anyone dare doubt the existence of God with nature’s spectacles such as this? I have never seen a sun so big and so red. Times like these, I wonder if the Philippines and Cambodia are from the same planet we call Earth.

The view from the moat: a famous angle and a photographer’s favorite.

The splendor of Angkor Wat at sunrise.

I didn’t have to see to believe that sunrise is indeed spectacular at Angkor Wat.  My only regret is that I didn’t have any high-fallutin’ camera to capture this profound moment…Which is a good thing, in a way, because it drives me even more to come back and be more technically equipped.

While I was expecting to meet bandmate Maan Chua and hubby Kublai Millan (famed young Philippine sculptor) sometime, somewhere in the temple grounds, I didnt’ expect them to be there at sunrise on the same day as they came to Siem Reap a day earlier. It was a happy “reunion!” Left to right: Jeannie Soriano-de Guzman, myself, Sherida Luga, Marit Belisario, Fitz Parale, Maan Chua, Kublai Millan. Photo taken by our great guide Vath Vutha.

With my friends, I’m now getting ready to go inside the famous Wat. But first, I just had to take a picture of myself and…..

….my beloved fiance Jeff with Angkor Wat in the backdrop.  Jeff and I hoped to get married in the temple grounds but having seen what I’ve seen I now doubt it’s possible.  But I will definitely be back with Jeff–the live one. Photos taken by Fitz Parale.

Our first stop right after sunrise was actually the toilet, one of the many scattered around Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, and the other temple grounds. All of them look alike and are dark (to conserve energy); you have to turn on the light inside the cubicle yourself and turn it off as you leave. But I digress. So from this toilet building just before entering Angkor Wat, I took a picture of this hundred-year-old palm tree, one of two planted quite consciously and conspicuously on either side of Angkor Wat’s west entrance. And while I marvelled at its height, I wouldn’t have looked at it twice if it were not that Vutha told us how old it was. So there, I took a snapshot.

One of the ironies of temples dedicated to religion are galleries of bas reliefs portraying the wars and conquests of men. By contrast, everywhere in the walls of the temples are over a thousand images of apsara devatas (dancing spirits or goddesses). This gallery was our very first stop inside the temple.

The shine in many of the images were caused by hands touching the works. The government has since prohibited visitors from touching the carvings.

This guy (or god?) was a lead character in the war saga.

One of the gallery halls below.

Our blocking in the picture below was directed by our guide Vutha.  See what I mean by getting a guide who has an eye for photography?  Email him, quickly: vuthavath@yahoo.com, and no, I don’t have a cut in his very, very reasonable professional fee, haha!  (We would have given him more if our pockets were a little heavier.)

I thought the coast was clear when I took this photo. It was only after I had downloaded it into my computer that I saw that human being walking towards the light.

This image of a Cambodian (presumably a local resident) was taken just one second before a swarm of tourists began descending the stairs, including myself. I trembled in anxiety as I took this shot, worried a tourist would get in the way of a pretty picture.  It is, quite appropriately, the last photo of this series, as I and my friends prepare to descend towards the east gate and take more photos of this fantastic creation of humankind inspired by the embrace of a loving God.  Oh, and did you know that Angkor Wat was actually built as a tribute to the Hindu God Vishnu?