Sunrise to Sunset in Angkor: A Cambodia Travelogue by Bénédicte de Montlaur

When World Monuments Fund (WMF) was first invited to survey the temples of Angkor Archaeological Park, Cambodia was emerging from decades of civil strife that had taken an enormous toll on the country and its heritage. Thirty-five years later, I found myself walking down the same paths that the initial team must have taken all those decades ago, only the contrast between what we saw couldn’t have been greater. After over three decades of hard work across four sites—in partnership with the Authority for the Protection of the Site and Management of the Region of Angkor (APSARA)—buildings that had once been at risk of collapse have been stabilized, entryways once blocked by debris have been cleared, and a city once choked and shrouded in shadow from jungle overgrowth has been brought to the light once more. 

I had the opportunity to travel to Cambodia in January as part of our most recent Monumental Journeys trip, which was organized to coincide with 35th anniversary celebrations. At Angkor, we were also honoring the fact that APSARA was officially taking over future conservation management at three of the four sites where we had previously worked (Preah Khan, Ta Som, and Angkor Wat’s Churning of the Ocean of Milk Gallery); at the fourth, Phnom Bakheng, we will be starting a new phase of work with support from the U.S Department of State, the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), and the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh. Our group was privileged to have Ginevra Boatto, Regional Representative for Southeast Asia, as our expert guide on the history of the Khmer Empire. We were lucky to be privy to experiences few travelers to Cambodia are afforded. Our group got a private tour of Angkor Conservation, a center usually closed to the public that houses over 5,000 sculptures and carved stone stelae from throughout Angkor Archaeological Park. We were also treated to traditional Khmer cuisine, performances by the Sacred Dancers of Angkor, and a shadow puppet show in the grandiose setting of Prasat Kravan Temple. Among the most spectacular moments on the trip was crossing West Baray, the world’s largest artificial reservoir, in a chartered boat, an experience that truly drove home the genius of Angkor’s engineers. 

Outside of the Archaeological Park, our group had the opportunity to stroll through Kok Tnout, one of the most beautiful and unspoiled rice-growing villages in the region. We also explored the step pyramids of Koh Ker, the former Khmer capital and a recently inscribed UNESCO World Heritage site. After being heavily looted, many Khmer sculptures from Koh Ker and other sites are finally finding their way back to Cambodia. Our group was given context on this complex and sensitive issue at other times on the trip by the Cambodian Minister of Culture and Bradley Gordon, founder of Edenbridge Asia, who has worked to spearhead the return of Cambodian artworks. Artist Lim Muy Theam graciously invited our group into his home for an evening devoted to learning about the vibrant contemporary Cambodian art scene.  

But of course, no visit to Cambodia would be complete without a pilgrimage to Angkor, and it was there that we spent the lion’s share of our time, from taking in the sunrise over the towers of Angkor Wat to a lavish Khmer dinner at Prasat Kravanh Temple. It was there that we gathered to celebrate 35 years of extraordinary hard work on the part of our staff and partners.  

With years of painstaking labor—often disassembling and reassembling parts of the temples block by block—the team here has helped safeguard icons of world heritage that were once in grave danger. Yet our celebration at Angkor was also a demonstration of the fact that the impact of heritage and its preservation goes far beyond the physical fabric of the structures themselves. The conservation of Angkor has created numerous jobs for local people, and WMF is proud to be part of this effort. Our commitment to Angkor and Cambodia remains intact as we carry on the next phase of our work at the magnificent Phnom Bakheng Temple while elaborating plans with the Cambodian authorities for improved training and education programs both at a local and national level. 

Heritage strengthens communities and fosters bonds across time and space—and the decades-long collaboration to preserve Angkor is one of the most eloquent testimonies to that fact that I know.