An early start on 15th June got me to the airport in time for a (theoretical) 7 am flight to Siem Reap.

This was not in the original plan – I wasn’t expecting to take internal flights in Cambodia. I’d had no idea what, if anything, there was to see in the capital, or elsewhere in the country for that matter. However, I have been told that if I have the opportunity then I really should try my best to visit something called Angkor Wat, which is an ancient temple complex near the town of Siem Reap. Though I hadn’t heard of it, I was told that it was apparently something that could be an important tourist attraction if it wasn’t sealed-off in battle-scarred Cambodia.

It is only 300 km from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap but it is too dangerous to travel there by road, due to Khmer Rouge activity. However the government is confident enough that the area round Siem Reap is safe, to allow foreigners to fly there on a Russian Antonov An42. Thus my purchase of the ticket yesterday.

There was quite a lot of activity at the airport, but it turned out that there were only 6 of us on the plane to Siem Reap. It only flies 3 times per week, so you either spend 1 full day or 2 full days there, depending on when you go. I will get 2 full days, plus the 2 half days, which I’m sure will be more than enough to see a temple!

The other 5 passengers on the plane didn’t look like tourists at all. There were 2 middle aged couples, and when I exchanged a few words with them it turned out they are European diplomats and their wives, who are based in Phnom Penh and Hanoi. The 5th person was very different – he looked like a reporter and was exactly that – an American who introduced himself as Charlie.

Just as the plane became airborne, the cabin suddenly filled with smoke. Well, I thought it was smoke, but it was water vapour from the air conditioning. Charlied laughed and said that it perfectly normal on Russian planes, which are not built for hot humid climates.

Soon we were flying over the huge Tonlé Sap lake in the centre of the country, which is the largest freshwater lake in SE Asia. There were curious “arrows” in the water, which I assume are fish traps of some sort.

After a couple of hours, the plane landed in Siem Reap. During the flight, I had been thinking that if visitors go to Angkor Wat on one flight, and come back on the next, and since this is the only plane, the only other visitors who I am likely to see the whole time will be my 5 fellow passengers….

A little bus ferried us to the only hotel that is functioning. It is an old French-style place called Le Grand Hotel d’Angkor. It is big… and empty. There is no mains electricity in Siem Reap, but the hotel has a generator. After checking in, some money changed hands with the official who “looked after” the limited visitors to the area. The fee for visiting was over $100, but this included a personal guide the whole time, plus lunches and transport.

Chatting with Charlie helped to put into perspective the fact that being allowed to reach here is a Big Deal – nobody has been allowed here for so many years, yet there is so much amazing stuff to see and (for now…) no tourists at all!

Well.. one tourist: me. Charlie doesn’t count because is here on a photo assignment (“moonlighting” in his words) for a Japanese magazine. He is normally contracted to Newsweek as a photographer and occasional war correspondent.

First up was the Bayon temple. I was immediately stunned by the grandour of these 1000 year old structures, and the huge imposing statues and carved faces.

However what was most startling was the beautifully intricate and descriptive bas reliefs depicting aspects of life of the ancient Khmer empire – the battles, daily life, and more battles. And more battles (that’s apparently all they did). But it was fascinating to see, and I kept wondering how it could have been so well preserved.

No less fascinating, and at the same time disturbing, was when my guide, who was probably about my age (28), started talking about life for him under the Khmer Rouge. I’d formed an idea of how horrendous it might have been, and yet hoped it wasn’t. But my guide confirmed that it was just as bad, if not worse.

After lunch it was time to head for Angkor Wat itself. My book had gushed that it is “…considered by many to be one of the most inspired and spectacular monuments ever conceived by the human mind“.

When I first stepped through the initial entrance gate and caught sight of the empty causeway leading down to Angkor Wat, I was stunned at how well preserved and perfect it was.

More stunning still was when my guide explained that what I was looking at wasn’t actually Angkor Wat yet – it was just another, bigger, entrance gate!! The temple itself was still hidden behind it. But there was plenty to see just in the in entrance gate, once I had said “hi” to Vishnu…

Evidently there has been some cleaning work going on, and the effect is jaw dropping for a 1000 year old structure. My guide took me down to the right hand end of this entrance gate…

We went through the arch to find… a cow field, with Angkor Wat itself beyond…

Back to the centre again for the grand entrance – the causeway leading down was long, magnificent… and empty. The 2 structures either side were apparently libraries. The large scale symmetry of the whole thing is jaw-dropping.

Finally we made it down to the main structure. What makes it so special is the large scale grandeur combined with the intricately carved bas reliefs, like this one of the “Churning of the Ocean of Milk” to extract the elixir of immortality. My guide explained that originally these beautiful carvings were coloured – in a few places (like here) you can still see the remains of the colouring.

We climbed a little way up the centre tower.. An small archaeology preservation team from Eastern Europe were engaged in cleaning work and had erected scaffolding on one of the towers. It was easy to see which areas they had cleaned…

Walking back down the long causeway for a view in the evening light, we ran into Charlie, who was also attracted by the soft lighting conditions, and had photographic gear slung round him. Suddenly we noticed a group of saffron-robed monks walking across the deserted causeway, and Charlie leapt into action, clicking off 10 exposures with his professional motor-wind camera at different zooms, in the time it took for me, standing beside him, to take just one!

Eventually we wandered back to the gateway, where the centre tower of Angkor Wat was framed perfectly in the doorway.

The guide told us there was a Chinese food place nearby so Charlie and I wandered down there to eat and have a beer.

I think I can say that I consider it worthwhile to have made the effort to come here!