A Glimpse of the Cambodian Sunset

When the sun waves goodbye, I feel of peace. Im at peace with my surroundings, with myself, or with  my emotional state.  However, for some, they feel lonely, as if the sun itself left them alone. Others feel happy as they can now party for the night. One of the memorable things that Cambodia has to offer is its sunset experience via its massive temples. For us, we chose Pre Rup, an aged pyramid temple built as the state temple of Khmer king Rajendravarman.  

It was a lovely day with some friendly photo bombers :)

Pre Rup is situated  at the Angkor Archaeological sites. Riding from Ta Phrom temple (the Tomb Raider site where trees rise atop temples as if eating them and converting them into jungles again) you will pass by the man-made Sra Srang reservoir lake and a few meters, you'll find Pre Rup at the left side area .

Upon arriving, we were greeted with a temple mountain made of brick, laterite and sandstone...and lots of tourists (on top). The name Pre Rup means "turn the body" in modern vocabulary. It shows the common belief among Cambodians that funerals were conducted at the temple, with the ashes of the body being ritually rotated in different directions as the service progressed. The temples has lots of closed doors which adds to the its ancient mystery. 

It was a cloudy day when we went for our Cambodian temple sunset viewing experience

Atop, you'll find lion sculptures that seem to watch the sunsets too. At first, when you arrive at the temple compount, it looks like there's nobody at the place and  the emptiness will bother you. But surprise,  upon climbing the tall temple, we found out that there's another area that is already filled to the brim with tourists of different nationalities. This is the east side area where the sun says it last hurrah for the day. Searching for a sweet spot was not that easy as tourists before us area already comfortably seated, just relaxing and spending the last hours of the day with some chit chat and snapshots.

Waiting for Sunset atop Pre Rup, a pyramid temple at Siem Reap Cambodia

Suggested Hotels to Search: 

 - Check these Siem Reap hotels out for your trip -

Via Booking.com

1. Oasis Siem Reap

2. Panpan Saga Villa and Hotel

3. More Siem Reap Hotels to choose (click)

Via Agoda.com
1. Royal Angkor Hotel   (2.56 from city center)

2. Silk D' Angkor Boutique Hotel   (0.09 from city center)

3. Saem Siem Reap Hotel (0.21 from city center)

4. The Privilege Floor by Lotus Blanc  

5. Golden Temple Retreat - A 4 star / 4.5 star hotel inside city center

 Atop the temple, it's all about you and your safety. Just watch out for the edges and slopes. The stone temple seems to be unstable but somehow, lots of tourists braved their way by sitting on high edges. That's why, a simple or comfortable clothing is a must. Better wear a shoe with rough sole to avoid falling down because some areas are slippery specially if there was a drizzle. A lot of accidents do happen in Angkor site, according to our tuktuk driver. Some fall to their deaths because they wanted to take some good shots or because they were wearing slippery sandals. The cambodian government, learned from these tragic accidents that could have been prevented and so they put some warnings and safety nets in most temples.

There's a GoPro camera up there (probably used for time-lapse photography).

I roamed around the atop the vicinity while waiting for the sun that was so lazy to show up. As if it was sleeping behind curtains of clouds so some people, just like me, got bored. After hunting for good angles for photos of the temple, I went back to my sweet spot where my wife guarded it from the "others".  In the end, many tourists were obviously dismayed with the outcome as the sun didn't even produce an amazing circular form. Its form was 4 out of 10 for me. 

Risking limbs and lives just to have a sweet spot during the sunset

My wife and I went down before it got too dark. Our tuktuk driver was eagerly waiting for us and he made us see the last drop of sun at the ancient reservoir which I got to shoot some silhouettes of kids diving. Many tourists remained at Pre Rup, though. I think, maybe, they will spend the night there under the stars after a failed sunset hunting.

What I learned from it was I cannot replace the shared experience with other strangers of coming up to see the solitary view. The fact that we went there and found other eager tourists to enjoy nature and relaxing in ancient grounds with rich history was already a feat for us. After all, we risked our limbs and lives climbing the risky temple. If you plan to follow our route, then just beg Mr. Sun to show up. You will be in luck if it shows for your lenses and camera's sensors. Enjoy shooting and traveling!  

Helpful Tips: 

1. Wear comfy clothes or (non-slippery) shoes when you climb Pre Rup.
2. Be careful when climbing up and going down as the steps are narrow, slippery and made of ancient bricks so it's overall dangerous.

3. Hold tightly to areas that has no cracks to avoid a fall
4. Bring a camera bag that's so handy or easy to carry.
(Climbing this temple with heavy gears is a No no)
5. Go there an hour before the sunset so you can still explore the base of the temple then climb 30 minutes before the actual sunset.
6. Find a safe and sweet spot to see the sunset
7. When it's cloudy and the sun seems shy, just smile and enjoy the company of many tourists up the temple. Promise to youself go back again someday.

Pre Rup Temple Map