The big day has arrived. After already exploring Siem Reap and the great temple of Ta Promh, this day is dedicated to the great Angkor Wat! I’ve been looking forward to this moment very much. While it’s still dark, I set off to reach the complex at sunrise and have this monument and this moment all to myself. The day before, I had booked a tuk-tuk to be waiting for me so early. It’s right on time.

It’s quiet. Even the animal kingdom is silent. But it’s tropically warm. Above all, the route through the forest is beautiful, despite all the haste; the air is fresh and the area deserted. The world appears dark blue.

I love it. It feels wonderful.

The top of the temple is deserted; only an elderly man is there, who invites us to kneel before Buddha and light an incense stick. The complex is enormous, and the large towers rising from the jungle are gigantic. The complex contains many reliefs of ancient battles fought by King Angkor with the Vietnamese and Siamese, which enabled him to build the great temple and fortress complex of Angkor within just forty years with the help of millions of workers. I climb to the top of the temple. I ascend to the upper level via a particularly steep staircase that can only be climbed using hands and feet.

I can balance along a ledge on the side, but it drops 20 meters vertically. I sit on the edge, dangle my feet, and enjoy the view. From here, I can see out over the jungle. Many tall trees tower above the canopy. A small mountain with a ruin at its peak rises out of the jungle. In the distance, I can see the lake and the floodplain, but of course, also the entire area of ​​Angkor Wat.

I persuade Jane and Glen to come with me on a balloon ride over Angkor. Brian accompanies us to the landing site. Strangely, even here, there are metal checks, and they don’t want to let me board the balloon with my hunting knife. But Brian looks after our belongings, so we can take off.

The balloon flies up to 100 meters in the air, using only helium, and you get a fantastic view of Angkor Wat and the surrounding area. Ian had warned me there might be a big crowd, but apart from the captain and an Asian couple with their child, we were alone. It was still early.

As soon as we’re about to meet Ian again, a group of young girls suddenly approach us on the street, rushing towards Glen and me, calling our names. We’re absolutely surprised that they know us by name. But it can only have been one person who told them. Knowing our names, the young salesgirls naturally hope for a better chance; they even wrote us little notes and handed them to us.

In the letters, they describe their situation and how they needed the money from the sales for school. I usually always put off book sellers by saying I only read German books. It was a shame if, for once, someone actually had a German book. Books are generally locally produced copies.

On the main path through the temple grounds, I meet Ian and Phila, Cheata and her mother. They were also here to watch the sunset over Angkor Wat and are happy to meet me.

I buy a few small wooden Buddhas from a vendor as souvenirs. Then we have breakfast at a stall: banana pancakes, pineapple, and bananas.

In the afternoon, we visit the Angkor Promh complex, a ruin famous for its ninety-six four-faced towers. The sky has clouded over again, and it begins to rain. The rain gives the ruins in the jungle an enchanted atmosphere. The ancient stones are moss-covered, the sky is dark, and water beads off the faces in the rubble. Narrow alleys lead through the ruins, and I have to climb over slippery stones to reach the higher levels.

In a hidden room, I come to a candlelit Buddha statue, before which two people are kneeling: an old woman and an old man. The woman hands me some incense sticks and invites me to say a prayer and make a wish while I light the incense sticks. I give them a dollar, thank them with a nod through clasped hands, and make my way out.

Through the forest, we come to lonely temples that rise out of the jungle in clearings, surrounded by small moats. Many frogs hop through the grass, startled by us. A few children approach and try to sell us mandolins, flutes, or bags.

They are not particularly important temples, but several teams of archaeologists are still busy excavating while I wander around the buildings and see the truly extraordinary reliefs.

I have dinner with Glen, Ian, and the Scots again at the hotel, and when Phila and her friend Cheata show up, we invite them over. After a few beers, Glen performs his complete housewife dance routine, which he’s always hinted at in discos and bars. He pantomimes vacuuming, barbecuing, and shopping; it’s simply hilarious.

The day in Angkor Wat was a special experience!

We’re traveling far across the country. I want to stretch my legs in a village, so I wander along the road while the bus pulls forward. I find a woman frying bananas, and I immediately buy up her entire supply.

I love fried bananas!

Naturally, many vendors quickly notice that a Western tourist is wandering through the streets and gather around me. I get back to safety in our vehicle and distribute the bananas among my friends. We pass through more villages, rice fields, forests, and temples.

Little by little we disperse: Ian goes first with Brian, who says goodbye to us because his flight leaves quite early in the morning. The Canadians didn’t come to the bar with us. When Mia and I share a motorbike back to the hotel, only Jane, Kevin, and Glen remain, who are completely absorbed in belting out some pop music. The next morning I find out that they went to a disco, Kevin suddenly disappeared, and Jane and Glen rode back on a motorbike. Jane fell off the back once. Glen had to help Jane back to the hotel; she wasn’t hurt, she was just drunk. When Glen came into our room, which I didn’t notice, Jane said – or so Glen told me – that I looked cute when I was asleep. Who knows if she’ll remember that the next morning?

I get up extra early to have breakfast with the others. My flight doesn’t leave until the afternoon, but Kevin, Euen, Jenna, Nicki, Mia, and Becks are leaving Cambodia at noon. Even Glen gets up earlier for this.

Considering he’s in the Navy, he’s quite a spoiled late riser. He doesn’t fly until the next day, while Ian and Jane are staying a little longer. Ian had just finished his last trip, and Jane is traveling around the world. She wants to explore a bit more of Cambodia before continuing her journey in China.

Breakfast is once again very sadly beautiful, and we say our proper goodbyes. As we leave, I give each of the girls two kisses on the cheek, as is, or was, customary in Germany. They certainly think the tradition is great.

Then it’s just Ian, Glen, Jane, and me left. Ian recommends we visit the Landmine Museum this morning. Thematically, it ties in closely with our experience of the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime.

We go to the Cambodian Kitchen in town, where we’ve also arranged to meet Ian. He tries the potato gratin with chicken and ham, which I had prepared for me. I enjoy the Khmer curry again with as much rice as I can eat. We chat a bit about the highlights of the trip and our plans.

Then I say goodbye and head back to the hotel, where I’m about to face the challenge of getting my things and the remaining souvenirs into my trekking backpack. It’s going quite well. I’ve asked Mr. Ha to call a taxi for me at 4:30, but I still have half an hour. The monsoon is starting again, and it’s pouring with rain.

Cambodia has had a big impact on me

I’m standing on a covered terrace, looking out at the rain, then Mr. Ha joins me, and we talk about this and that, Cambodia and Germany. Mr. Ha is very impressed by the Germans and praises my English. I tell him about my impressions of Cambodia and the changes the country is now undergoing.

As soon as Mr. Ha is called to reception, I go to the restaurant to keep Cheata company while she eats. She has the photos she took on her last day at Angkor Wat next to her. She’s also learning a bit of Japanese. Shortly afterward, Phila joins us, followed by Glen.

When Glen impresses Cheata by speaking a little Japanese, I dig into my Greek and write the names of everyone present in Greek on a piece of paper, which impresses her greatly. I give the piece of paper to Phila.

The rain has eased a bit, and my taxi pulls into the yard. I ask Cheata if I can choose three of her photos. Then I say goodbye to Jane, who arrives sprinting along on time, as well as to Ian and Mr. Ha. I say goodbye to Glen, and we invite each other to visit anytime. Then I say goodbye to Cheata and Phila. We also exchanged phone numbers and email addresses, of course. I kiss Cheata on the cheeks, and she stands frozen in surprise, like a pillar of salt. Phila resists a bit, but still gets her kisses and turns bright red. Everyone around me laughs. I get into the taxi, almost forgetting my room key in my pocket, then the taxi takes me to Siem Reap airport, from where I take a turboprop to Bangkok and then a plane to Frankfurt.

The rest of the adventure flies by.