Abode of the gods

Cicadas sang a chorus as the forest opened out. I peered into the darkness and traced the distant contour of a monumental religious complex, a remarkable feat of human civilisation. Keyed up with my first visit, I crossed a floating bridge, a soon-to-be-dismantled construction, over a large moat in the midst of lush vegetation. Before dawn, I arrived at Angkor Wat.

“Sour sdey [hello],” said Pheakdey, a local guide, in his native language when a group of journalists joined other early risers in catching daybreak. All stood in awe of the world’s largest temple. After two years of the pandemic, Cambodia officially reopened late last year.

“It is getting better,” he said, “Around 1,000 tourists…