Angkor Wat Warnings Or Dangers

Imitation antique looks close enough and much cheaper than original or "fakes".

I could see the dramatic heads along a bridge into Angkor Wat. Some are restored copies as the originals have been broken through wars or "sawn off" to smuggle out or sold to private collectors or overseas museums.

My opinion is that real historical antiquity should be left at their site for preservation and enjoyment by all, locals and tourists and those "looted or taken in the past" should be kept in public museums.

As tourists, we should not encourage destruction of historical sites by buying antiques for private collection. We can also donate any extra cash to UNESCO or other bodies for preservation of cultural relics.

If you are going without a tour guide, do read up before hand to appreciate the different bass reliefs on the walls depicting Khmer Kings, the wars and the local Khmer culture and daily lives. Otherwise, you will just walk through and everything after awhile look a like and you will miss the hilights of the historical documentation carved in stone.

If you are with a tour guide, do listen first to the wealth of information and ask questions. Then ask for free time to allow you to take photos or just look and appreciate.

Many friends who have visited Angkor have told me that it is "boring". Perhaps they have missed the finer details and were just walking through.

It is a feast to the eye when I walked through the gallery corridors of Angkor Wat temple.

The triangulated top and the pillars that allow sunshine to bask the walls to reveal the beautiful wall frieze. There are also many tourists and tour guides giving their commentaries.

In the midst of active tourism, beware of your steps. There are dividing beams across the flow to step over from one area to another. So while your eyes look up and left and right, do always look down. Stop and view or take photograph, do not try to video tape and trip over. It has happened and you do not want to spoil your holidays.

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There are monkeys in several areas around the temples. You will see people feeding them and trying to pet them. Though they look cute and cuddly, I would not get too close. I saw people trying to pet them or tease them with food and the monkeys bare their teeth and try to bite. I wouldn't want one of them to clamp down on my hand... I kept a respectable distance as I would with any wild animal anywhere else in the world.

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Yes!!Poor Children, they look cute, innocent, helpless and you wish to adopt one as you may think Angelina Jolie may have did. Do not take out money at all times, and never ever try to give or donate or tip especially cambodian children (i know its sounds cruel) but once you give one then 10 will come, if not the children may have seen this as a common gesture from most tourist.

Do attempt to street seller, even if you been approached just say no once and thats it otherwise thousan of street seller especially children will follow you whereever you go till you managed to buy one.

Be aware that if you take any flight at Siem Reap airport you will have to pay a tax on your departure it is 25USD for international flights, I'm sorry I don't remember the national flight, and is not included in your ticket and only payable in US Dollars, so before getting the airport check you have the amount!!

The Angkor Wat complex is home to mosquitoes that could be carrying malaria or dengue fever. The World Health Organization warns about Malaria being present in the tourist areas. Carry some bug spray with you, especially if you will be out and about at dawn or after dark.

You can check out the following WHO website for up-to-date disease information for Cambodia and other countries.

The ancient temples of Angkor Wat are hundreds of years old and the buildings are left as they were when they were built. If you climb up and down the various temples watch out that you don't fall down. Also make sure that the stairs are solid, since some stairs are loose!