Tag: Angkor Archaeological Park

First Day at Angkor – What Is It Really Like?

My first day at Angkor by bicycle taught me some valuable lessons and showed me what real Angkor is really like. It is not in my nature to sugar coat anything so I’ll say it how it really is. First of all, if you are into ancient architecture and find fascination with ancient Khmer civilization that was on top of the game in its time but then mysteriously vanished, then Angkor will blow your mind. However if you are not, every temple you visit after the first one will look the same.

Angkor Heat

I’m am used to riding long distances every day in all types of weather, facing the harshest of elements, but Cambodian heat is far more intense than heat of any other country I have previously visited. I spent 6 months on various islands of the Caribbean using bicycle as my sole means of transportation yet even though I was in the tropical climates with intense heat, it was nothing compared to Cambodia.

I met a guy from Vancouver, Canada who came to Cambodia from Indonesia and even though Indonesia is directly on the equator while Cambodia is much further north, he said Indonesia was just as hot, but Cambodian sun was way more intense.

An English fellow I met purchased a three day pass to Angkor and rented an air conditioned car to drive him from one temple to another so he got regular breaks from the sun and the heat yet he said he couldn’t do any more of it after one day. The heat was just way too intense to handle after he got out of the air-conned car space.

Angkor Touts

Cambodian sun will suck all energy right out of you within minutes, but there are far bigger dangers in and around Angkor that are far more difficult to deal with. Cambodian touts rely heavily on the sun which as I had mentioned sucks life right out of people leaving them completely burnt out after just a few minutes of exposure to it. The touts know that anyone who’s this exhausted can’t be 100% alert 100% of the time so they keep attacking all tourists with relentless intensity. All tourists are subjected to constant pressure from the locals so it’s only a question of time before one of them succeeds in taking advantage. If you’re lucky, it will only be money you will lose.

Combination of an extremely intense sun with inescapable heat wears everyone down way too much but constant pressure from the touts will force you to waste that little bit of energy you still have left on keeping them away. There is an endless supply of them. Once you shook one of them off, another three dozen will jump down your neck and won’t leave you alone no matter what you do. After they have pushed you to a point at which you believe it couldn’t get any worse, you will get a fresh score of them who will be twice as aggressive as the ones before. There is absolutely no escaping them and to constantly fight them off is extremely exhausting.

Angkor Crime

On top of touts and scam artists whose life purpose is to rip people off, Angkor is also full of extremely dangerous, violent criminals. Thousands of them possess weapons and explosive they’ve owned since the days of Khmer Rouge. The owners are for the most part former Khmer Rouge killing machines recruited as young teenagers to kill people on daily basis. They are used to drawing blood and seeing people die by their hand. They’ve been doing that since they were 14 and always got away with it. Little has changed since Khmer Rouge was suppressed. New, more dangerous form of it rules Cambodia today but for you as a foreigner, the most disconcerting part are the killing recruits who are nowadays in their forties and fifties and are as blood thirsty as they were when they were enlisted to kill.

The dangers of roaming through Angkor don’t end with former Khmer Rouge killing machines. Every Cambodian knows darn well that no crime against foreigners is ever investigated so all it would take it to butcher one with a machete and let them rot in the middle of the jungle where they will never ever be found. After one of those Cambodians got you, that will be the last time anyone has ever heard of you. Stray dogs will appreciate your maggoty flesh as they get treated like shit and are never fed by their masters so a little feast of this sort will surely do them good. BTW, Mahatma Gandhi once said that “you can judge a society by the way it treats its animals”. If that is true, than Cambodians are some of the most horrible people in the world. If you ever come to Cambodia, just take notice of how locals treat their animals and you still can breathe after it, remember the quote and draw your own conclusions.

Angkor Rapes

Despite obvious dangers, most visitors to Angkor will not experience problems as Angkor sees thousands of foreign visitors every day making violent crime in most areas difficult. That being said, wandering off populated areas or exploring temples solo is a very risky business. Yet it gets far worse if you are a girl. Cambodia is a rape capital of the world. Many, many and then some girls were raped in less frequented temples and none of it was investigated. Rape itself is the worst experience a girl could ask for during her travels, but getting raped in Cambodia also comes with additional, complimentary present – HIV!

None of the local girls dare to wander around after dark. They all lock up in their homes and always make sure a male they can trust, such as their brother is nearby because rape hungry Cambodians won’t stop at closed doors. Just about every Cambodian girl you ever get a chance to talk to has either already been raped or came this close to it. Shockingly, true Cambodian won’t shy away from any girl, regardless how young. Sexual abuse of children by Cambodian males is an every day thing and that also involves children who can’t even speak or talk yet.

When you are in Cambodia, it’s not about whether you will be a victim of crime, it’s about when. If you are lucky, you will come and leave before someone pulls it on you. That by no means that you only met nice people. That simply means that you didn’t give them a chance to attack you. If you keep your eyes open, you will see how just about every Cambodian will check you out closely, carefully estimating what the content of your pocket could be and how difficult it would be to gain control of it. They are extremely skilled in thievery and anyone whose observant enough will notice how they always check you thoroughly out for what could be stolen, even if it will not always lead to an attempt to steal. Intentions are undeniable, though.

Angkor Roads

Because Angkor is so overrun with tourists, you will be a difficult target for most fishy Cambodians even though they will relentlessly wait for their moment. This is the reason why most tourists get out of Cambodia unharmed. Many of them lack the ability to read people or are simply too dumbed down to see the obvious but to their credit, they will come back from Cambodia with naught but happy memories. Ignorance truly is a bliss. Perhaps the key to enjoying your stay in otherwise truly dangerous Cambodia is to party it out completely oblivious to dangers as unless you try to be an explorer, the likelihood of something bad happening to you is reasonably low.

However – and that’s a BIG however… even though you may avoid being a victim of violent crime Cambodia is so riddled with, there is one thing you will not avoid not matter what – getting killed in a traffic accident.

Cambodians are the worst drivers in the world with virtually no traffic rules in place (or enforced) whatsoever. Their desire to compensate for their hurting egos takes flight when they sit behind the wheel of a motorcycle or a car. It makes them feel empowered so they honk horns all the time to let everyone know that their macho ego is coming through and force themselves in with no respect for bicyclists or pedestrians. Yes, Cambodia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world, yet despite of all that, their drivers are so awful you are in even greater danger from being killed by a vehicle each time you step outside the room than by a blood thirsty Khmer Rouge killing machine. Just imagine how horrible the road situation must be if it’s more dangerous than their uncontrolled guns and explosives possessed by the killing machines who have been killing since their early teens. This is what real Angkor is really like. Being a photographer and a journalist makes me to walk around with my eyes open. Sometimes I wish I was different so I could live with blissful ignorance, completely oblivious to all the dangers a countries like Cambodia represents. I’d come and leave and would just write about warm locals who were extremely nice to me, because I didn’t see that they were faking it to get money off of me. I’d write about helpful locals who showed me hidden treasures because I didn’t see they were setting me up but their plan was busted last minute by a group of Japanese guided tourists who showed up at what could have been the crime scene had they not been there.

Coconuts at Angkor Wat and Value of Repeat Business

Man, this heat really wears you out. I was enthusiastic and ecstatic to see Angkor Wat at last, but I was quickly running out of juice. My clothes were drench with sweat and the supply of water I took with me was exhausted, yet thirst remained unquenched. I knew I was fit enough to pull entire Angkor adventure off on a bicycle, but the heat made it far more challenging than I was ready for. Here I was after just one temple out of hundreds and already parched out of myself. I needed an escape from the heat and something to both rehydrate my moisture stripped body and boost my energy. I desperately needed a coconut so I can replace lost minerals with its isotonic, re-energizing water.

Photo: Line of Trees Along the North Pond of Angkor Wat Hides the Line of Stalls Selling Junk and Refreshment
Photo: Line of Trees Along the North Pond of Angkor Wat Hides the Line of Stalls Selling Junk and Refreshment

Line of trees along the northern exterior wall of Angkor Wat hides a line of shops full of desperate touts who make a point of earning money on every foreigner who comes to sight. Entering their reign meant giving myself in to their relentless harassment, but I had to. I needed a shade of the trees and needed a stall with cold coconuts so I can cool myself from within and refresh my stagnating vigor.

As I walked down the stairs from the Terrace of Honors, I already had a few dozen kids running towards me with postcards, scarves, bootleg books, and other useless junk they were determined to beat me into buying no matter what. Already armed with strong ability to resist their arguments as to why I can’t afford to not buy from them, I adamantly insisted that I didn’t need anything of what they had to offer. They instantly continued to offer anything and everything I have not yet said “No” to, yet I knew that if I tell any of them that I wanted a coconut, they would take me to any stall where I would have to pay higher than normal price to also cover for their commission.

I continued walking along the stalls keeping a keen eye on what which shop had to offer and when I saw the first one with coconuts, I asked how much they were. She said 3,000 Riel which instantly meant loss of potential business. I could appreciate that they were trying to rip each new tourist off as much as they could, but I wasn’t ready and willing to play their game. I saw there were many stalls selling coconuts so I was just gonna walk along and would refuse to buy from anyone trying to rip me off. Some went as far as to ask $1 for a coconut which only affirmed my position of not giving them my business. First shop to quote me a fair price for coconut (2,000 Riel or $.50 US) would get my business, which would involve at least two coconuts and a large bottle of water.

Cambodians focus too much on attempts to make quick and easy buck the first time a customer is there. Such things as building continuous relationship with a customer and striving for repeat business are unknown to them. They just try to rip you off as much as they can, even though they know sooner or later you are going to find out that they ripped you off and you will never buy from them again. This is a bad business practise and results in lower earnings overtime. Understanding the importance of repeat, loyal customers could make a difference between how long the merchant stays in business. Cambodians fail to recognize this important aspect of business and work strongly against it.

Being a man, I was happy to have been quoted a fair price for a coconut by a stall with a couple of very pretty Cambodian girls. Dripping with sweat, obviously visibly exhausted from heat and mentally drained after endless attempts to rip me off while dozens of touts didn’t give me a second of peace, I took a seat on an offered chair and asked for a coconut from the fridge (fridge at Angkor Wat where at the time of my visit was no electricity was a plastic box with large cubes of ice which keep the content, such as bottled water, soft drinks or coconuts cool).

Photo: My New Friends From the Stall at Angkor Wat Where I Was Buying Coconuts
Photo: My New Friends From the Stall at Angkor Wat Where I Was Buying Coconuts

My first coconut went down like I haven’t had anything to drink in weeks. I instantly asked for another one and a large bottle of water. I also needed a break from the sun and since there were no air-conditioned rooms to have, sitting in the shade of large trees was the best it got. Cooling off inside Angkor Wat is no solution to being hot. It shelters you from the sun, but ancient stones radiate as much heat as the sun so stepping inside for a minute to relax will drench you with sweat as much as sitting outside in direct sun.

Trees provided the shelter from the sun but also some exposure to cooling breeze. There is very little of it in Cambodia, but at least I was standing a chance, unlike it is inside the temples.

Photo: Angkor Wat Resident Monkeys Kept Me Company by Eating Coconut Leftovers
Photo: Angkor Wat Resident Monkeys Kept Me Company by Eating Coconut Leftovers

As I was sitting there drinking my coconuts and water, I had the kid touts continue approaching me. Having a foreigner seated at a coconut is a good opportunity to offer junk as he’s not gonna run away. That’s their thinking. However, as much as I was getting fed with all this abuse, while I was sitting there catching my breath, I got a different perspective on the hardship people from surrounding villages go through on day to day basis.

I spoke with the girls from the stall where I bought the coconuts and many things took a whole new image. I already bought from them so they had no more reason to harass me, except from occasional attempts with upsales, but as I was sitting there, hustling turned into friendly chat. I really needed a good break so I spent about an hour at their shop recharging. I explained them the importance of building quality relationships with customers and what value repeat business means compared to one time increased gain, and told them that if they tried to overcharge me like so many stalls before them attempted to, they would not get any business from me. I also explained that this simple act of quoting me a fair price will result in me seeking them again next time I’m in the neighbourhood and in need of a coconut.

This is what previous stalls failed to realize and it was gonna costs them many dollars in lost profits. Instead, all of the money I was going to spend at Angkor Wat would go to to my new friends who showed decent business sense and kept me comfortable and amused while I was in their care.

Photo: Girls from the Stall Introduced Me to the Cambodian Way of Eating Coconut Meat
Photo: Girls from the Stall Introduced Me to the Cambodian Way of Eating Coconut Meat

Before I left, I had yet one more coconut and bought another bottle of water from them. I drank six coconuts that day, five were from these girls. Three at this first visit and two later on when I was on my way back to Siem Reap. And it didn’t end there. Each day thereafter, during my seven days long adventure exploring Angkor Archaeological Park I started and finished my day by going to Angkor Wat to have a coconut and buy a bottle of water from these girls. This is what loyal customer base does to you. You never know how long who is going to stay in your neighbourhood. Don’t try to rip them off as much as you can with their first purchase thinking you will not see them again. Value of repeat business is immense. Many Cambodiian business need to realize that and act accordingly.

Coconut – Essential Source of Hydration and Energy

I have said it before and I will say it again – exploring Angkor Wat or any other temple at the Angkor Archaeological Park is an extremely hot and sweaty effort. Cambodian sun is scorching hot and the stone blocks temples are made of get exposed to it on daily basis and radiate this heat back. You have nowhere to escape the heat and it will wear you out sooner than you would care to admit. It is absolutely essential that you keep well hydrated in this heat but your body will certainly need more than just water to keep going. For that, there is nothing better than coconut water from fresh (green) coconuts.

When you start traveling a lot and leave your home country for an extended period of time, you’ll soon grow to realize that you need to do more for your health now than you would at home. Getting sick in a foreign country could be a traumatizing experience but moving from one geographical zone to another changes the demands of your body making good care of your health confusing. So what do you do to provide your body with what it needs regardless of whether you are sweating in a tropical country or freezing up in a snowy mountain? The answer is simple – fruits and vegetables endemic to that area.

Nature has the best answers for the needs of people so look to the nature and stick with produce that’s endemic to the area where you currently are. Fruits and vegetables that are native to the geographical zone you are in will contain nutrients you need to keep you going in weather typical of that particular zone. Coconuts are endemic to the tropical climate zones, such as that of Cambodia and contain nutrients that are an essential source of hydration and energy you desperately need in this heat.

Clean, safe drinking water is without doubt essential no matter where you are, but if you are in a tropical location and exposed to excessive heat such as when exploring Angkor temples, you need more than just water. You need an additional source of hydration, which is also a source of essential vitamins and minerals you burn off the fastest as you sweat excessively and is at the same time a source of natural energy.

This is exactly what you get from fresh coconut water. It is 100% natural and full of biologically pure natural sugars, vitamins and minerals to beat off fatigue, boost immunity and hydrate your parched cells. It’s like drinking the most potent energy drink but all natural, without harmful chemicals and preservatives. Potassium, Calcium and Magnesium contained in the coconut water are in perfect balance. Isotonic properties of coconut water replace the minerals and fluids that your body loses during excessive sweating or increased physical activity.

Yet there is one more essential fact to consider – energy drinks can strip your wallet off a few dollars per bottle. Similarly, bottle of filtered tap water of questionable quality costs $.50 (or 2,000 Cambodian Riel) to purchase in Cambodia, yet one fresh coconut costs the same: $.50. You get a little less fluid out of a coconut than you would get one of a 1.5 litre bottle of water, but it is pure nature, not potentially bacteria filled tap water and it is full of essential vitamins and minerals you would have to pay a lot of money for if you wanted to buy as supplements. And you get it in purely natural form, and as a liquid for easy and fast absorption and additional hydration.

Savvy visitors to Angkor drink a lot of coconut. Those unwise stick solely with water (again, you do need clean water but it’s simply not enough) or buy carbonated soft drinks and condemn themselves to inevitable burnout. As a guy who used bicycle as his sole means of transportation from one temple to another, I was exposed to the heat and remained physically active at all times. The demands of my body were severely high and coconut was the only thing that kept me going.

Photo: Monkey Munches on Young Coconut Shells at Angkor Wat
Photo: Monkey Munches on Young Coconut Shells at Angkor Wat

Cambodian heat and radiation of temple stones make exploring Angkor Archaeological Park an extremely challenging adventure even if you hire a cab and get driven around in an air-conditioned vehicle. If you opt for a less expensive option and hire a Tuk Tuk to drive you around, you won’t get the pleasure of cooling down in an air-conditioned space, but you will get a chance to sit and relax for a moment while the Tuk Tuk is moving, creating a fan effect that washes off your sweat during the transport. However if you go for a self powered, environment friendly transportation option – such as a bicycle the way I did, you will face a rewarding, but excessively challenging adventure. To not give up and see it through to the successful end, do yourself a favour and drink fresh coconut water every time you can. Coconut is an essential source of hydration and energy and provides you with nutrients you desperately need to survive in this heat. And what’s more, it’s one of the most effective antiviral superfoods that’s available (in Cambodia) for as little as 50 cents.

Apsara Authority Cambodia

The Apsara Authority is a government sponsored agency in Cambodia responsible for management and protection of Angkor Archaeological Park. That sounds like a fair and noble cause and to some point it is, however being part of the most corrupt government in the world, it comes as no surprise that Apsara Authority would be as corrupt and twisted as the people who created it.

On their website autoriteapsara.org, the Apsara Authority describes its purpose and agenda as follows:

The government has created APSARA, the Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap, in charge of research, protection and conservation of cultural heritage, as well as urban and tourist development. This legislative and institutional framework marks the beginning of a new active role Cambodia will take, responding to the call of her own people in the voice of her King, as well as to that of the international community, in managing Angkor as a national and world heritage for the generations to come.

On the History and Organization page, the text on the website states that Apsara Authority is responsible for:

  • Protecting, maintaining, conserving and improving the value of the archaeological park, the culture, the environment and the history of the Angkor region as defined on the World Heritage List.
  • Refining and applying the master plan on tourist development according to the five zones, defined in 1994 in the Royal Decree on the protection and management of Siemreap-Angkor and taking action against deforestation, illegal territory occupation as well as anarchy activities in Siemreap-Angkor.
  • Finding financial sources and investments.
  • Participating in the policy of cutting down poverty of the Royal Government in Siemreap-Angkor.
  • Cooperating with the Cambodian Development Council on the investments of all the projects that are involved with APSARA Authority’s mission.
  • Cooperating with ministries, institutions, funds, national and international communities as well as international governmental institutions and non-governmental organization on all projects related to APSARA Authority.

There are some truly dubious statements in the description of their responsibilities and by looking at past actions of Apsara Authority throughout the Siem Reap area one can come to conclusions what they likely mean.

Photo: Apsara Authority Inspector at an Entrance to One of Angkor Temples
Photo: Apsara Authority Inspector at an Entrance to One of Angkor Temples

The first alarming statement can be seen in the introductory sentence where it is mentioned that Apsara Authority was created “for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap” – and the region of Siem Reap? Why does Apsara Authority want to spread their jurisdiction outside of the Angkor Archaeological Park? If their purpose is to preserve and protect the ancient temples of Angkor, than why stick fingers in villages outside of Angkor?

Another even more dubious statement is one you have certainly already noticed – anarchy activities. What in the name of Buddha are anarchy activities? Has this phrase purposefully been forced into the list of Apsarta Authority responsibilities so they have their asses covered no matter what they do? Past actions of the agency show us that it truly could be so.

Photo: Apsara Authority Logo on an Information Panel at Banteay Kdei Temple
Photo: Apsara Authority Logo on an Information Panel at Banteay Kdei Temple

From the reports of people living in touristy areas as well as from articles published in the Phnom Penh Post it is evident that large groups of Apsara Authority officials have been going around villages in the Siem Reap province, threatening the villagers at gunpoint that if they modernize their houses or build something new on their land, they will be evicted without recourse. If any of the villagers voices against unlawful eviction, they are simply told that their actions are perceived as “anarchy activities” and are henceforth removed from the land that their predecessors lived on for centuries. They are subsequently moved to a tiny piece of land that was assigned to them in lieu of their coveted location. Their new land is in the middle of nowhere, in the district where they have no friends or family to rely on. That is what Apsara Authority refers to when they say “anarchy activities”.

Apparently, for as long as the villagers keep their original, “traditional” houses – aka wooden, thatched barns on stilts – and don’t try to modernize them, they should be fine. I have my own theory why they insist on people living in prehistoric houses that are falling apart:

It has everything to do with foreign donations coming in massive chunks to Cambodia. In order for the financial support from abroad to continuously grow, foreigner must be exposed to villagers who look poor, live in atrocious conditions with houses falling apart around them. If there were any signs of improvement of conditions in which regular folk live, foreign donations could diminish. Given lack of transparency throughout Cambodia along with the most corrupt government in the world, any money coming to Cambodia, regardless of who it is intended for, eventually ends up in the hands of the ruling elite while impoverished, underprivileged citizens get nothing. However they are a good bait for foreign donations so it is absolutely essential for the government to ensure that people remain poor and look poor. At least those who live in the areas where foreigners go.

Touts – The Dark Side of Angkor Wat

This was it – here I was at the doorstep to Angkor Wat ready to start exploring the temple that’s been at the top of my “Must Visit Before I Die” list for ages. The morning was in its early stages yet the sun was already pretty intense. As I took my last turn around the moat that surrounds the temple complex, I noticed a bunch of locals having a big laundry washing day in its waters. None of the hundreds of locals passing by in both directions seemed to pay any attention to it and neither did the policemen that ride their motorcycles throughout Angkor making the laundry washing look like doing it in the moat is a normal, every day thing.

I found it rather weird that you would take all your clothes to the moat where everyone can see you and pour loads of washing powder in it to openly poison the environment – especially when it comes to such significant piece of history as Angkor Wat yet since I was the only one who seemed to have found it awful, I just moved on and continued riding towards the entrance gate which was only a few hundred meters ahead of me. The excitement was unmeasurable at this point. I was only minutes away from entering and exploring Angkor Wat, however before one gets to that point, the dark side of Angkor Wat is revealed to them – extremely aggressive touts, hustlers, peddlers and other con artists.

Photo: Touts at Angkor Wat Selling Bootleg Books to Tourists on a Tour Bus
Photo: Touts at Angkor Wat Selling Bootleg Books to Tourists on a Tour Bus

There was a super high density of locals right opposite Angkor Wat’s entrance gate that’s proceeded by a sandstone causeway over the near 200 meters wide moat. Countless Tuk Tuks and unceasing ruckus left little for guessing. This is Angkor Wat – the most famous and the best preserved temple of the Angkor Archaeological Park which also happens to be the closest temple to Siem Reap from where all organized tours originate so mobile touts concentrated around here in anticipation of fat profits.

As I was riding by I had just about every local screaming at me to make me stop but it wasn’t until a woman came running across the street to block me from going any further that I stopped. She came after me with such haste it looked as though it was a matter of life or death. At first glance I thought that maybe I have done something wrong, perhaps by entering a road that’s off limit and she ran to stop me so I don’t get into any trouble but the real motifs came to light right away. She used the moment of surprise to get my attention so she can make money on me. Now that she had me stopped it was up to her to make the most out of the opportunity. Afterall, there are hundreds of other touts and she was the only one who got me stop and listen to her.

She could see this was my first time here and I didn’t know my way around very well so she fooled me into believing that I couldn’t go any further. I didn’t mind that one bit because I was gonna stop and go to Angkor Wat anyway, but this was yet another lesson that taught me that one should never trust a Cambodian who’s on a mission to get your money (are there any who are not?).

The woman said that I could park opposite Angkor Wat for free, but I had to buy cold water from her. She insisted that the temple was big and there was no water to buy inside. As soon as she said that I could park there for free, I knew I was dealing with a simple scam artist who is ready to throw any lie that will work my way just as long as it ends up in her making money off of me. With this being finally clear in my mind, I turned away from the woman and drove through the parking lot, alongside countless Tuk Tuk drivers who saw me riding a bicycle yet kept asking me if I needed a Tuk Tuk ride anyway. I rode until I found a chain fence and locked my bicycle against it.

Within two seconds I had dozens of kids with postcards, bracelets, water, bootleg guide books and other junk surround me and bash at me from every side, unceasingly demanding that I buy something from them. Within additional seconds they were joined by dozens of adults who insisted that I buy a hat from them because it’s hot, the sun is scorching and there is no where to buy a hat inside Angkor Wat. Everything that can be sold was offered to me, but I use word “offer” sparingly., Those people were extremely pushy, surrounded me, got in my face and never took “No” for an answer.

It was clear that they are used to harassing tourists and used to being told “No” so they had a response at the ready no matter how I responded to their pressure. I showed them I had water of my own and didn’t need any more weight on me. I also showed them I had a hat of my own and was happy with it. I was well equipped for a whole day on a bicycle riding in this extreme heat yet it mattered not to them. They were continuously bashing and bashing at me and pulling more and more of their handy tricks to get me buy something from them.

After I had about five dozen touts on me, they were joined by new way of hustlers – tour guides. To avoid scam, legitimate tour guides must wear pale yellow-ish shirts with a badge on it to identify them as licensed tour guides. Because it is possible to earn $20 or more (in case of non English or French guides) as a tour guide, it is an extremely popular money maker so supply far exceeds demand. As a result, tour guide who got their license and are not booked for the day yet hang around the most popular temples at the right time of the day to try to score a gig right on the spot. Dozens of them got on my bum to get me buy their services, most of them by instantly starting to “guide” me without my permission in anticipation that they will stick with me until I feel obliged to keep and pay them.

I remained adamant that each of them is wasting their time using the most solid reply they have nothing on:

“I’m out of my money. All I have is one dollar and I’m saving that for a bottle of water in the afternoon. You are welcome to guide me for as long as you understand that you are not getting paid for it. And no matter how hard you try to argue me into hiring you, I simply have no money to give you. End of story.”

There is no such thing as a “helpful local” in Cambodia. They all make it look like their sole purpose is to help you yet the only people they are looking to help is themselves. A tourist who doesn’t realize this sets themselves up for a big surprise. I continued on keeping my pace disregarding all attempts to get money from me so now that they could tell there was no way I was gonna buy anything from them, they used passive aggressive lines to make me feel obliged for the future. They did it by saying something like this:

“OK so then you’re gonna buy on your way back, OK? I’ll be waiting for you. Don’t forget you promised to buy from me!”

It is notably shocking that everything any of these touts lets out of their mouth is a lie. Ancient temples of Angkor are widely regarded among Cambodians as sacred places with powerful deities patrolling them. Angkor Wat where all these touts jumped me is particularly powerful in that regard since it has been a point of pilgrimage ever since it was built, being the only temple in Angkor Archaeological Park that has served that purpose without being fully abandoned.

Everyone in Cambodia will tell you that you should never lie in proximity to Angkor Wat (or any other temple for that matter, but Angkor Wat in particular). If you do so, you are bringing very bad karma upon yourself. However, if you do so knowingly, karma effect gets hundred times more powerful. If these Cambodians are fully aware of the fact that they mustn’t lie in presence of a temple, how come they all do it openly and without a wink?

Once you have walked inside Angkor Wat, you cross the passages inside the exterior wall and walk along the sandstone causeway, there will be small libraries on both sides followed by small ponds also on both sides – right before the steps that will lead you to the first level of the central temple. On the left hand side, where the most popular spot to observe sunrise at Angkor Wat is (also the best spot to take pictures of Angkor Wat) hidden from the sun under the line of trees, there is a long line of stalls selling everything you may need.

Each time any of the touts outside of the temple tells you that you must buy water/hat/scarf/food/whatever from them because there is none of it available inside, you will know they are straight up lying. And this starts with kids as young as three years old. These people grow up being professionals liars. After decades of doing nothing but lying each and every day of their lives – what have they grown to be?

Angkor People and Corruption in Cambodia

Here I was at last – facing the entrance gate to Angkor Wat after a brief bike ride around the vast moat that surrounds it. Ready to start exploring the largest religious complex in the world, I noticed that the area around the Angkor temples is densely inhabited by Angkor People – locals living in wooden houses on stilts. Whole Angkor Archaeological Park is full of randomly scattered villages people of which take good advantage of increasing popularity of Angkor and unceasingly follow every tourist until they succeed in talking them into spending some money. Sadly, at present time, exploring Angkor Wat also means being hassled by locals on every step of your way.

I am not entirely sure what Angkor People would do if they didn’t live in the neighbourhood of famous ancient temples. Tourists are a source of easy money and Angkor People are well aware of it by taking full advantage of the fact, but what if they weren’t that lucky and haven’t had their predecessors built these phenomenal complexes that result in millions of dollars in revenue? I can imagine that at some point in the past, they were focused on growing cattle, growing rice and perhaps hand-crafting useful items that could be offered for sale at markets in Siem Reap.

But this is no longer the case. Nowadays the villagers get up early in the morning and station themselves at the gates to the nearest temple or other point of interest that attracts lots of tourists and spend their whole days following each and every one of them around basing their livelihood on their success rate to get as much out of each tourist as possible. Children as young as 3 years old are dispatched by their parents after the tourists because it’s easier for them to talk a tourist into buying worthless junk than it is for their parents. Afterall, who could say no to a child that just learned how to speak and is already reciting well tailored sentences in English that are aimed to melt your heart and… most importantly, open your wallet?

Photo: Instead of Sending Them to School Parents Equip Their Kids to Sell Junk to Tourists (Angkor Wat)
Photo: Instead of Sending Them to School Parents Equip Their Kids to Sell Junk to Tourists (Angkor Wat)

If you end up spending several days exploring the temples of Angkor, you will notice that children who should be at school spend their whole days bothering tourists, vastly undisturbed by the fact that they are not getting any education. The ability to talk as many foreigners as possible into spending the money is all they have going for the future. They can’t read or write in their mother’s tongue, but they can already speak English and possibly one or more other foreign languages. Infants who are too small to follow tourists around are trained to recognize foreigners and repeatedly scream “Hello” at them. You will get that on every step. Kids under two years old will instantly leap on their feet and start yelling “Hello” and waving at you as soon as they catch a glimpse of you. And this is the way they are brought up – believing that their purpose in life is to get after every foreigner in vicinity and don’t stop bothering them until they have lured some money out of them. And if the wallet gets pulled out, then try to get as much as possible – never settle with little amounts.

From the beginning I could not comprehend the fact that when you go to Angkor you see all those kids trying to get money from you when they should be at school, but as I started paying closer attention to the issue, I noticed that parents themselves don’t want to send the kids to school because if they spend the best part of the day there, then who’s gonna bother tourist for easy money? It’s much easier for kids to score dough than it is for adults so why waste kid’s time for schools? The older they get, the more difficult it will be for them to talk foreigners out of their money so school gets simply taken off the list of important things for their kids.

But it gets even worse. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, Cambodia is one of the world’s most corrupt countries, second only to the likes of Somalia where there is no government to begin with so it’s hard to talk about corruption or well known, long established mothers of all things corrupt – Burma (Myanmar) and Haiti. The government of Cambodia is too corrupt to care about anything other than their own pockets. The fact that their people lack education is of little concern or, more likely, a preferred outcome because obviously uneducated, poor population will continue attracting foreign donations much of which will end up in the pockets of corrupt officials. They need the world to see the poor people with no access to education and health care because that’s what drives sympathy and compassion and those are the main driving force behind millions dollars that come to Cambodia from international philanthropists. And once this money is in Cambodia, people in power get to choose what is done with it. Only a small fraction makes it to where it’s needed and this is precisely the purpose.

Again, if living conditions for ordinary people improved, donations would shrink or… stop completely. In other words, if they used the money they have to fix their country and improve the economy, then there would be no more need for international organizations to continuously sending more aid. This fact is amplified even more by the fact that Angkor attracts millions of people to Cambodia every year and that generates massive revenue. It starts with a $20 – $25 visa fee, continues with a pile of expenses to cover for everyone’s stay and gets highlighted with Angkor Entrance Fee which ranges from $20 to $60 per person.

Here’s the catch – Apsara Authority, Cambodian organization responsible for protection, conservation and research at Angkor World Heritage Site sees mere 10% of all the funds accumulated by charging entrance fees to Angkor Archaeological Park. This is yet another scam played up by corrupt Cambodian government (along with the scam by Sokha Hotels chain, the Sokimex gasoline conglomerate division with close ties to CPP – Cambodia’s leading People’s Party which runs ticket concessions and gets to keep 17% of revenue generated by Angkor temples).

If majority of the monies Angkor generates was used to preserve and protect it, then foreign organizations that currently sponsor preservation, restoration and protection efforts at Angkor would no longer be necessary. Whereas right now, because Cambodian body responsible for preservation and protection of Angkor (Apsara Authority) doesn’t have enough money, they heavily rely on help from the abroad. But let’s ask again – why does Apsara Authority not have enough money in the first place? How is it possible that they can’t make ends meet if Angkor generates millions upon millions of dollars in direct foreign revenue (plus indirect revenue from Tuk Tuk fees, tour operation fees, sales of keepsakes, etc.)?

Just as foreign donations to Cambodia disappear in the black hole of the corrupt Cambodian system, so do the money generated by Angkor temples. For as long as majority of Cambodian people remain poor, uneducated and health care deprived, the donations will not stop coming. And for as long as Apsara Authority continues not getting enough money to look after the works needed to preserve Angkor themselves, foreign sponsors will continue investing their money to Angkor to ensure this magnificent site doesn’t fall into ruin.

Angkor Wat

There is no denying it – Angkor Wat is the most breathtaking temple complex at the Angkor Archaeological Park. It is also the best preserved monument at Angkor because unlike all other temples, Angkor Wat was never abandoned. Compared in its grandeur to architectonic gems of ancient Greece or Rome, Angkor Wat is still the largest religious structure in the world.

Angkor Wat was built in the early 12th century for then King Suryavarman II (ruled Cambodia between 1112 and 1152). It was initially constructed in honor of the Hindu god Vishnu with whom the god-king Suryavarman II identified, but was restored to become a shrine for Buddhist pilgrims in the 16th century. From that point on, Angkor Wat has been the only temple at Angkor that was continuously used which significantly contributed to its well preserved state.

Photo: Angkor Wat View from the East
Photo: Angkor Wat View from the East

After flourishing Khmer civilization mysteriously vanished and abandoned the monumental city, Angkor was overtaken by jungle and started to fall into ruin. Phnom Penh has become the capital city and the center for the Khmer Royal court and Angkor continued to deteriorate until it was rediscovered by French explorers in the 1860’s.

Portuguese monk Antonio da Magdalena visited Angkor Wat in 1586 and became the first westerner to make a written account about it. However, even though completely astounded by its splendour and having made a colourful report describing Angkor’s magnificence, his story was not published until 1958. It wasn’t until 1868 when French explorer Henri Mouhot published his account in Voyage a Siam et dans le Cambodge that Angkor Wat got widely popularized in the western countries.

Architectonically, Angkor Wat represents the epitome of Khmer architecture. It is widely accepted as a symbol of Cambodia and has been on country’s national flag since about 1863, when Cambodia’s first flag was introduced. Angkor Wat is also the most recognizable landmark of the country and is responsible for attracting more foreign tourism to Cambodia than anything else.

Photo: Main Causeway to Angkor Wat in Morning Light
Photo: Main Causeway to Angkor Wat in Morning Light

The reason why Angkor Wat faces west is still left for speculations. Temples are by default built facing east and because west represents death, many experts speculate that Angkor Wat was not built to be a temple, but rather a tomb for Suryavarman II – the god-king who had it built. Strangely enough, the remains of Suryavarman II were never laid in Angkor Wat. So why was it built facing west???

Despite its west facing orientation, Angkor Wat does bear signs of being a temple. One of prime reasons to assume that it was a temple is the design which represents Mount Meru – a holy mountain in the center of the universe which has long been regarded to be the home to Hindu gods (Shiva). This is where the term “temple-mountain” comes from. Banteay Samre, Beng Melea, Wat Atwea and Thommanon are other Angkorian-era temple-mountains built in the same style as Angkor Wat and may have served as prototypes for the design of their most famous cousin. Moat surrounding the temple represents the oceans surrounding Mount Meru. Aside from being a Temple Mountain, Angkor Wat also encompasses the layout style known as “Galleried Temple” and serves as an architectural combination of the two.

The heart of Angkor Wat consists of a three tiered temple with five distinctive towers. Four of these lotus-shaped towers crown each of the corners of the temple while the fifth one is in the middle and reaches above all others. Center tower rises up no less than 65 meters from ground level.

The walls of this 1 square kilometre temple are covered on both sides with carvings and bas reliefs. The exterior of temple’s lower level wall is covered with bas reliefs depicting complete stories from Hindu mythology, including Churning of the Ocean Milk on the east wall, and successful war lead by Suryavarman II against Chum (Battle of Kurukshetra) on the west wall. Nearly 2,000 carvings of Apsaras (or Devatas) can be found at various places throughout Angkor Wat. Apsaras were celestial dancers who were widely regarded as messengers between the gods and humans.

Photo: Apsara Dancers Carved on the Interior of the First Level of Angkor Wat Wall
Photo: Apsara Dancers Carved on the Interior of the First Level of Angkor Wat Wall

Including the moat, Angkor Wat spreads over a chunk of land that’s 1.3 kilometers wide and 1.5 kilometers long. Exterior wall that wraps around the temple measures 1025 meters by 800 meters. The moat that surrounds the exterior wall from the outside is 190 meters wide and filled with water, making any moat around medieval castles look like a puddle after rain.

According to preserved inscriptions, 300,000 workers and 6,000 elephants were involved in the construction of Angkor Wat. However even though not fully completed, the construction works stopped shortly after king Suryavarman II’s death leaving some of the bas reliefs unfinished. Scholars speculate that Angkor Wat’s original name may have been Vrah Vishnulok – based on the name of the deity it was dedicated to but none of the inscriptions found has any reliable reference to the original name so this remains a speculation.

Hope you have enjoyed my little introduction to Angkor Wat – the acme of the Angkor World Heritage Site. It contained brief history, information about its architecture, overview of its king and the empire, art, size, symbolism and other useful facts. Few pictures accompany the article, for more pictures visit any of my extensive galleries:

Angkor Wat in the Morning Light Photo Gallery

Angkor Wat in the Morning Light Photo Gallery

While Angkor Archaeological Park is full of visually breathtaking temples, Angkor Wat is without doubt the most spectacular one. This photo gallery showcases Angkor Wat in the morning light. I have already offered an important Angkor Wat Photo Tip in a post suggesting the best itinerary for an Angkor Wat tour and this photo gallery will demonstrate with images why morning is NOT the best time to visit and/or photograph Angkor Wat.

One exception to the rule would be to come to Angkor Wat way early in the morning – before the sunrise. Since visiting hours start at 5am, if you are an early bird and can get up and get ready before 5 so you can get to Angkor Wat just before the sun breaks over the horizon, you would be able to capture the silhouettes of Angkor Wat against the colored morning sky without the sun creating strong backlight.

Obviously, you would have to be a truly dedicated photographer to undertake the pre-sunrise mission as it requires an extremely early get-up and once you got the pictures, you will have to move somewhere else as Angkor Wat will not be photogenic for the rest of the morning.

I could never do that which is why I don’t have any photos of Angkor Wat at the sunrise in the gallery. I’m a night owl, I go to bed at 4am. I can work till late, just don’t ask me to get up early. The best I can do it 8am but there better be a something worthwhile waiting there for me. Luckily Angkor Wat is definitely worth it and even though photos from the morning hours don’t do it justice and make it look flad, almost two-dimensional, it is still an architectual and artistic masterpiece with amazing carvings on the walls that can be photographed at any time of the day. Enjoy the gallery – pictures of Angkor taken during afternoon light when the sun illuminates the face, as well as during sun set and rain are in separate galleries:

Angkor Wat Tour with Best Itinerary

Angkor Wat is not only the most famous of all the temples within the Angkor Archaeological Park, it is also the nearest to Siem Reap, from where you will be starting your tour so it’s expectedly the first ancient temple each first time visitor to Angkor area goes to see. The small circle tour – the most popular itinerary because it covers all of the biggest, most famous and most important temples has Angkor Wat as its first stop if you start the circle in the clockwise direction. This may seem like the best itinerary scenario because you naturally tend to want to start your tour with the nearest point of interest first and progress your way along with the next nearest, until you have covered the entire circle.

This is exactly what I was thinking when I took a closer look at the map of the Angkor Archaeological Park and this is also what every guide book recommends. Unfortunately, this is the worst way to take the small circle and I really can’t believe none of the guides tells you that. Let me say it again, when you start your tour of the Angkor Archaeological Park and do the small circle to cover all of the most impressive temples first, do it in the counter-clockwise direction, not clockwise, the way it would seem natural and the way all of the tourist guides would have you do it. The reasons are simple (just for some reason nobody considers them):

All of the temples in the Angkor Archaeological Park face east, except from one – Angkor Wat. Because of that, if you start your itinerary by going to Angkor Wat in the morning, the sun will be illuminating the back side of the temple making for truly tough back-lighting, difficult photography conditions, detail lacking pictures even if you know how to set up your camera for difficult lighting and because Cambodian sun is extremely intense, you’re gonna have a hard time getting a decent capture no matter what.

Photo: Angkor Wat in the Morning (left) When Sun Creates Strong Backlight Compared with the Afternoon (right) When Sun Is Behind You
Photo: Angkor Wat in the Morning (left) When Sun Creates Strong Backlight Compared with the Afternoon (right) When Sun Is Behind You

But there is yet another important reason why you should go counter-clockwise – everybody else goes clockwise. Angkor Archaeological Park gets visited by thousands of people every day. Virtually all of them will go to Angkor Wat in the morning – at around the same time as you and will do the small circle by following the road in clockwise direction. You could spend hours upon hours waiting to get a picture of the temple without dozens of people in the view, yet you won’t get it. You will have hundreds of people to share the temple with and as you move from one temple to another, all of those people move in approximately the same time. The feeling of being in overcrowded spaces will follow you all along. But that’s still not as bad as the next reason why not to go clockwise:

All of local peddlers, touts, beggars, hustlers, scam artists and other obnoxious individuals preying on thousands of tourists visiting Angkor Archaeological Park know that virtually every visitor to the area starts with Angkor Wat and progresses on clockwise through other temples on the small circle so they move in approximately the same speed to ensure they are at the spot where the concentration of tourists is the highest. As such, you are guaranteed to get tons of them on every step of your way, harassing you all the time. They will move as you move and will be on your ass in vast numbers whole day. Whereas if you go counter-clockwise, you will only get the stationary peddlers who operate on the same spot all the time. This eliminates a lot of hassle and headache.

Don’t be silly like I was. If you start your journey with Angkor Wat, you will soon realize that the pictures don’t do the temple justice and will start planning for your next visit in the afternoon hours. The way Angkor Wat looks in the afternoon when sun is in the west and illuminates the front is way superior to the way it looks in the morning. Besides, going clockwise doesn’t merely screw your light for Angkor Wat.

Because Angkor Wat is the only temple facing west, if you take the clockwise itinerary, you will slowly progress your way to the temples on the eastern side of small circle, including magnificent Banteay Kdei and huge Sras Srang moat, and when you get to those, the light for them temples will be on the wrong side again.

You definitely want to start with Banteay Kdei in the morning to have it nicely illuminated by the morning sun, catch the sunrise as it emerges above Sras Srang and move along in the counter-clockwise direction until you make it to Angkor Wat, when sun is in the west and illuminates the front of it, making all fine details stand out and shine. This is the best itinerary you can arrange for when you are planning your Angkor Wat tour. Don’t start the tour by going to Angkor Wat first. You will miss out on wonderful sunrise over Sras Srang, will catch both Angkor Wat and Banteay Kdei in strong backlight and will have hundreds of other tourists around you to share the temples with. And that’s on top of dozens of hustlers who will follow you around. The best itinerary for the small circle Angkor Wat tour is by going counter clockwise, starting with Banteay Kdei and ending with Angkor Wat.

Road to Angkor Wat

This was the day I was waiting for. I took time to get acclimatized in Cambodia, to get familiar with the way the country works, to hook myself with my own, independent means of transportation and to wait out the rain so I make the most out of my visit to Angkor Archaeological Area. And now here I was – riding away to buy my 7 day pass and see Angkor Wat with my own eyes at last.

Photo: Road to Angkor Wat
Photo: Road to Angkor Wat

The road to Angkor Wat gets interesting right after you have passed the ticketing office. Trees that line the road are marked with name plates at the base of each tree. This educational effort is repeated and present along the roads of most of Angkor Archaeological Park. The plates offer the Cambodian name of the tree, as well as English and Latin names.

Photo: Koki Tree With Its Name Plate Alongside the Road to Angkor Wat
Photo: Koki Tree With Its Name Plate Alongside the Road to Angkor Wat

As I rode further, I came to my first T intersection. I already knew I was gonna go left because that’s where the nearest, but also the largest and the most popular temple is – Angkor Wat. I was gonna do the clockwise circle starting from the left so I can cover the most famous and interesting temples first. This way if I end up with some extra time left, I can return to these temples and explore some more.

Interestingly enough, as got close to that T intersection, I noticed a couple of friendly monkeys on a side of the road. Since the only live monkey I have seen before (at the Damnak Wat Temple) was a bit shy a ran away, I wanted to take this opportunity and snap some pictures of these few that seemed to be the opposite of shy.

Photo: Monkey Sees Me Stop and Starts Sneaking Up On Me
Photo: Monkey Sees Me Stop and Starts Sneaking Up On Me

I really couldn’t wait to see Angkor Wat and I knew I was really darn close, but I was intrigued by the monkeys so I got off my bike, pulled the camera out and got ready to snap a few. What happened next got me by surprise, though. The fact that I pulled over and stopped must have been seen as an opportunity by the monkeys because within seconds from dismounting my bike, I found myself surrounded by dozens of them that showed no shame and went right towards me and my bike.

Photo: Monkey Comes to Probe my Bike
Photo: Monkey Comes to Probe my Bike

It was as though whole jungle that surrounds the Angkor temples came alive. There must have been a monkey hiding on every branch in sight and each showed up, climbed off the trees and sprinted in my general direction. Not knowing how to safely deal with the monkey, their straightforward approach got me freaked a little. I mean, these were cute little animals, but I didn’t know how dangerous they were. Last thing I wanted would be to get bitten by one and catch some disease. What’s worse, I didn’t know how strong they were and with increasing numbers that kept showing up I would be overwhelmed quickly. I started to beck off to keep my distance.

That didn’t go over too well, though. Seeing my bicycle, bunch of monkeys jumped on it and started pulling stuff out of my camera bag that was mounted on the steering bars. I had to yell at them and run towards the bike to scare them off but they leaped off and knocked the bike over. Others got dangerously too close and started to climb me reaching for anything that had a strap or was sticking out in any fashion. At this point, I no longer saw these monkeys as some cute animals. They were some truly greedy and shameless buggers one needs to watch out for.

Photo: Monkey Jumps on My Bike and Starts Stealing Stuff Out of My Bag While Another One Watches Closely
Photo: Monkey Jumps on My Bike and Starts Stealing Stuff Out of My Bag While Another One Watches Closely

I got a last minute rescue when a family riding in a cab that was approaching got excited seeing all these monkey around me and wanted to experience the same. Monkeys noticed the car that just pulled over and their focus shifted from me to them. I took this opportunity and darted out of there. Monkeys are little cuties, but they are a bit unmanageable in highly touristy areas and their numbers are endless. I saw way too many of them emerge out of nowhere in seconds. It taught me a lesson and I stopped treating them like some cute kittens. Monkeys have very good control of their hands which look and work like human hands and are capable of grabbing just about anything they can carry. If they grab something and run up on a tree before you can halt them, you will have just lost it, regardless of how expensive it was. Watch over your stuff when monkeys are around. They are thieving little mischiefs.

Photo: Stopped Car Diverts Monkeys Attention - Time For Me To Go
Photo: Stopped Car Diverts Monkeys Attention - Time For Me To Go

Off I was set free from the monkeys and on the way to Angkor Wat the shapes of which I could already recognize. My heart was pumping with excitement. I’ve seen Angkor Wat in pictures countless times before and now here it is right before my eyes.