SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA (Aftenposten): If you visit the ancient temple ruins of Angkor Wat today, you will have them almost entirely to yourself.
Before the pandemic, there were more than 2 million visitors a year. Now the tourists have plenty of space. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
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– It’s good to be back, says Monicharya Chan (32).
For two years it was impossible for her to be a guide for the tourists in Angkor Wat. Cambodia was closed due to corona. The foreigners did not show up. The old temple buildings were left alone.
The transition was brutal. In 2019, 2.2 million people visited these ruins, which have long been on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Ticket sales plummeted by 99 percent when the pandemic hit.
– I didn’t have a job then. I had to move to another city and work as a salesperson. But this is where I want to be. Here, between all these beautiful buildings, says Chan.
Almost the entire adult population in Cambodia currently has two vaccination doses, and the country is open to fully vaccinated visitors. But for now, let them wait.
– Before the pandemic, there were long queues to get into some of the buildings or to take pictures from the best vantage points. Now there are only around 500 who come here every day, says the 32-year-old.
The first temple here was begun exactly 900 years ago – in 1122 – at the heart of the mighty Khmer Empire. For several hundred years it was hidden away in the forest before French colonists appeared in the 19th century.
Together with Machu Picchu and the pyramids in Egypt, it is one of the world’s most famous ancient monuments.
And there has never been a better time to go there.
–Several of the temple ruins are covered by large trees. The movie Tomb Raider was filmed right here. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
–Between two roots a face appears to greet visitors. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
–Currently, not many tourists visit the Angkor Wat ruins in Cambodia. The ruins cover an area of 1,600 acres, which provides plenty of space for the 500 or so who come here every day. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
–There are many details, not least the faces carved into the sandstone. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
–If you go a little further away, you can see the main temple in all its glory. The temple was a symbol of the wealth and power of the Khmer Empire in the 12th and 13th centuries. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
–The guards have little to do. In the past, Chinese tourists made up a large proportion of the visitors here. As long as China is closed due to corona, there will be far between visitors here. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
–Along the walls are carved countless pictures showing the culture and history of the Khmer Empire. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
–Guide Monicharya Chan (32) shows how the temple is built on an axis that points precisely towards zero degrees north. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
–Both Buddhists and Hindus consider Angkor Wat to be a significant building. Many go here on pilgrimages. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
–Now that the tourists aren’t showing up, this toilet attendant and her daughter can take a little make-up break. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
–Between the temples there is still farmland and rice paddies. Water buffalo swim in the small canals. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
–Angkor Wat was begun in 1122 and completed around 1150. Many of the details have survived the test of time. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
–The wall around several of the buildings is made of sandstone. These were very precisely cut. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
–During the pandemic, it has been possible to maintain the old buildings. In several places, old walls are also being rebuilt after collapsing in recent centuries. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
–A local family has donned traditional clothes to take photos in front of the ruins. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
–Others use their free time to collect fruit from the trees in and around the temple complex. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
–For now, they are not ripe, but after a few days of storage, the green fruits can be eaten. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
–Tame monkeys are a common sight at several of the temples. They are often fed by visiting tourists. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
–Right now, it is quiet and peaceful at Angkor Wat. But in time the tourist hordes will probably return. Photo: Kristoffer Rønneberg
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