Angkor temples a dog-free zone

18 September 2006 (Independent Online) – Maybe I should an include a ‘bizarre and quirky’ tag. For the convenience of tourists, Angkor Wat is now a dog free zone! But, to be fair, the Cambodian government have also acknowledged that the site is a religious temple and the last I checked, the bringing of pets to any religious site is frowned upon in any culture.

Angkor temples a dog-free zone

Cambodian police have banned dogs from the kingdom’s Angkor Wat complex in a bid to give tourists visiting the famed temples an excrement-free experience, an official said Monday.

Dogs are not good for the places of worship, police official Tan Chay said, adding that the animals’ presence insulted the spirits of the dead.

“Angkor Wat was built by our previous kings and ancestors for worship, so bringing dogs into the temples insults our ancestors’ work,” he said.