How to Angor Wat

A few things about my most recent trip to Angkor Wat:

1. My tuk tuk driver got the memo that I’d rather be alone in Angkor Wat as much as possible and took me on a different route that would avoid most of the foot-traffic. For example, he brought me to Phnom Bakheng for sunrise (there was noone there) and got me to the Bayon first, and the silent and solo bliss is 100% the best way to experience the beauty and magic of Angkor Wat.

2. Thanks to my ethnic ambiguity and my limited (but convincing) Khmer, all the guards decided to ignore me at closing time and focused on ushering all the other foreigners first. I was the last person to leave Angkor Wat and I had a really magical, front-row, unforgettable experience for sunset. This is how you win Angkor Wat at sunset.

3. Yes, it gets tricky to photograph a really special 900-year old temple structure in a different way than the two million people that visit it every year, but hey – it’s a worthy challenge.

[Travel Diaries from Angkor Wat, Cambodia | October 2018]