Imagine this scenario:
You’ve dragged yourself out of bed at 4 a.m. to elbow through hundreds of other camera-clutching tourists angling for the perfect sunrise shot at Angkor Wat.
A couple hours later, you find yourself waiting in a line to get a photo in front of a section of the famed Ta Prohm — better known as the “Tomb Raider” temple, thanks to its appearance in the film — with its surreal trees that appear to be slowly consuming the stones with their ravenous gnarled roots.
Your Indiana Jones visions of yourself, the Cambodian jungle and a landscape of wild ruins have been shattered.
You end the day with little more than sore feet and a memory card full of similar-looking photos that’ll mean little to you in 10 years — long after the quick history lesson you pulled out of your guidebook has slipped away.
Pretty grim, but it’s a scenario repeated thousands of times a week.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
Angkor is, after all, one of the most incredible archaeological sites on the planet, a 400-square-kilometer wonder filled with limitless beauty, intrigue and even a few remarkable quirks.
We called on leading archaeologists and guides, famous for their work in the Angkor complex, to share some tips and favorite corners visitors can seek out to add insight to their visits.
It’s not a temple complex
The first thing to remember is that this is not just a cluster of ruined temples.
While much of the focus of past Angkor research has been on the temple sites, thanks to the recent use of LiDAR technology — an airborne laser survey — they’ve recently learned that these temples were integrated into a humungous network of roads, house mounds, canals, ponds and temples across the Cambodian countryside.
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“I think almost no tourists go to visit the West Baray, but it is an amazing feat of human ingenuity and engineering and a relaxing trip,” she says.
Fletcher echoes this, saying there’s a lot more to see in Angkor than just ruins, and suggests a minimum of five days to explore.
“Really what you need to do is look at water, because water is how Angkor worked,” he says.
“Go somewhere like the West Baray, which is just staggering. Sixteen square kilometers of engineered water. The guides have almost nothing to say about it all.
“The other thing is to go up into the hills, to the north of Angkor, to places like Kbal Spean and see the carved rivers on the top of the plateau behind Angkor.”
“And then spend some time and see the Cambodian country side as it will give you some idea of what the place looked like,” he says.
“It would have been quite something. It was very beautiful. Trees, green rice fields everywhere. Houses along the embankments. Then these unbelievable, fabulous gold temples sticking out of the trees.
“Think Shwedagon’s fancy? Imagine what Angkor Wat used to look like.”
Getting there: Several airlines fly directly to Siem Reap in Cambodia and many nationalities can get a 30-day tourist visa upon arrival for $30.
Visitors can hire a local guide to explore the Angkor Archaeological Park (open daily, 5 a.m.-6 p.m.), though there are bicycle rentals and tuk-tuks for hire. Among several recommended guides is Cambodian Tong Hann, who works with the Anantara Siem Reap. He can be reached via email: tonghann012@yahoo.com.
The Angkor Pass can be purchased at the entrance gate: One-day $20, three-day $40 and seven-day $60. Photographs, which are printed on the pass, will be taken on location.
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