Cambodia Considers Opening Angkor Wat at Night
by Danny Fisher
SEAArch – The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog points us to an Associated Press story which informs us that the Cambodian government is considering opening Angkor Wat temple at night.
- Tourism is a major foreign currency earner for cash-strapped Cambodia. More than a million foreign tourists are expected to visit this year, with most from South Korea, Japan and the United States. More than half of tourists visit the Angkor temples, by far the country’s biggest draw.
Visitors are now ushered out of Angkor at sunset, but authorities are considering extending visiting hours to as late as 8:30 p.m. local time.
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But conservationists have long expressed concerns about tourism’s impact on Angkor.
They say the uncontrolled pumping of underground water to meet the rising demand of hotels and residents in the nearby town of Siem Reap may be destabilizing the earth beneath the temples.
Well, they have night skiing, and now night Buddhism.
Seriously, Angkor Wat’s like those Mayan temples: just not a place that’s built to last.
And you can’t blame the folks; their lives are ultimately more important than the temple itself.
The real question, I suppose is how you use the decaying complex for the greatest good.
The Mayan ruins have proved that tourists will come to ruins.
Seriously, Angkor Wat’s like those Mayan temples: just not a place that’s built to last.Good point, Mumon. And true of so many things, eh? Anicca, anicca, anicca…