Exploring Remote Ruins at Angkor Wat, Cambodia

I was exploring the impressive ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia back in 2006 on a particularly busy weekend.

Despite the magnificence of what is considered to be the largest religious monument on earth, people were crawling around the ruins like ants, posing for pictures, and generally just getting in the way.

But what many of the tourists to Angkor don't realize is that the ruins stretch over a space of 248 square miles, much of it strangled by the jungle.

Most people never leave the primary Angkor Wat site or the popular temples.

I found a friendly local driver and he whisked us away to an unrestored temple around an hour from the main Angkor Wat site. I hired a local guide in the nearest village for the equivalent of US $2 (he knew the paths that were clear of land mines) and we hiked into the jungle.

What I found was breathtaking: A completely forgotten temple, crumbled and overgrown with dense vegetation. There were no signs, no safety ropes or spotlights, and more importantly, no people. I was the only one there!

Long-eared Khmer statues, carvings, and broken bas-reliefs littered the ground; 900-year-old artifacts that belonged in a museum were scattered in the jungle.

Getting some time to appreciate the Angkor ruins in Cambodia without the distraction of too much tourism was the experience of a lifetime, and actually only cost me around US $15 for the round trip.

If you find yourself on the way to see Angkor Wat, consider picking up a map or book that plots some of the untouched ruins in the area -- getting away from the buzz of the tourist epicenter is well worth the effort!

Sourced: CambodiaNews