SEAArch - The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog

A this travel piece on Angkor, covering Phnom Bakheng, Ta Prohm and the Bayon.

The last stand
The Hindu, 17 February 2008

Here, I learn my first lesson about “remote” and “mystical” Angkor. For a place rediscovered only in the 1860s, protected by a thick belt of jungle, virtually cut off until 1998 due to a genocidal civil war, Angkor today lies on a road that is very well travelled. (“The world’s most crowded offbeat destination,” someone joked a couple of days later.) I guess I should have realised this when I passed the string of hotels that led to my own on the way from the airport. Or even before, when I spotted the Icelandair jet parked on the tarmac.

So then, I am not the only one with the sunset idea. Hundreds of others have planned to catch the last rays from the temple on the hill and I join the cheery chattering swarm on the way up. I make a list of nationalities from appearances, accents, dress and behaviour: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Arab, American, Thai and the ubiquitous groups of Japanese.

Read the full story here.

Related books:
- Bayon Reconsidered by V. Roveda, O. Cunin and C. Jacques
- Angkor Cities and Temples by C. Jaques
- Ancient Angkor (River Book Guides) by C. Jaques
- Angkor: The Serenity of Buddhism

Tags: Angkor, Bayon, Cambodia archaeology, Phnom Bakheng, Ta Prohm, Tourism

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