I am not a morning person.
Let me repeat: I detest waking up before 10:00am.
Practically nothing but a paying job or a flight will get me out of bed before ten.
So why oh why would I eve wake up early on my beloved sabbatical, when I am the master of my schedule and can sleep in as late as I want every day?
Sunrises are a pretty good excuse.
My first sunrise in SE Asia was in Bali. Our host asked if we wanted to go for a morning walk, and when we agreed, he said to be up at 5:00am. 5:00am????!!! So we left with him in the dark and I wondered why he was taking us on a "morning walk" before morning was even beginning. But by the time we reached the top of a tall hill near our house the sun was rising, and suddenly all the fields and rice paddies were illuminated in that morning light. That's the magic of waking up early: you get to see the sky in colors the reveal themselves at no other time.
After that first experience, I went on to watch the sunrise dozens of times from windows, rooftops, and temples. A SE Asian sunrise, those pastel colors, the calm quiet air that pervades the morning are worth waking up for.
Morning walk in Ubud, Bali |
Standard tourist sunrise shot at Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia |
My best sunrise in Bagan, Myanmar |
Sunrise from my apartment window in Chiang Mai, Thailand |
Sunrise from Phnom Bakheng, Siem Reap Cambodia |
Sunrise from Pre Rup, Siem Reap Cambodia |
Sunrise from the boat at HaLong Bay, Vietnam |
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