The Road to Preah Vihear

As the dry seasonal winds of November begin to wring the wet out of Siem Reap and Northern Cambodia, a new flood of tourists begin arriving to explore some of the most spectacular landscape on the planet. At the heart, Angkor Wat, the 80 square mile temple complex is the big ticket. With world-class accommodations and cuisine, Siem Reap plays host to over 3 million visitors a year.

Miles of major hotels are slowly crowding out rice paddies and stilt houses. In town, the central market remains traditional with its growers market, along side the arts, crafts and souvenirs. As a U.N. World Heritage Site, the temples remain accessible and pastoral with a well-oiled visitors’ center that controls tickets and traffic in and out of the complex.

But we’re here to use Siem Reap as a staging area for a more ambitious temple run. It’s a loop of unpaved road that leads north to the Thai border with several understated temple complexes that has our attention. A trip into an under traveled part of the country for a variety of reasons. For one, road conditions are sketchy and you can’t exactly check the local webcams. Tour operators venturing into the area are expensive and limited.

Time is always an issue when you’re hemmed in by airline reservations, and too much to see. We plan for the worst and hope for the best. Being on the ragged edge of the rainy season, news of flooding deaths from late monsoons trickle in. Then there are the huge warning signs about a Dengue fever outbreak. Not for the faint of heart.

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