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Angkor when it rains
By Stephen Brookes
Special to The Washington Post Sunday, November 4, 2007
“We'd come to Cambodia to see the famous temples of Angkor, those magnificent ruins that make up one of the most extraordinary landscapes in Asia, if not the world.
And we'd come in July -- in the heart of the monsoon, which sensible people had told us was pure madness. Wait until the dry season, they said, when the skies are clear and you're guaranteed as much sunshine as you can handle. |
Go during the long, wet summer -- when more than 50 inches of rain falls -- and you're certain to get stranded in your hotel, swatting at mosquitoes and hoping you don't come down with malaria. But we were here to test the contrarian idea that the monsoon might, in fact, be the best time to see Cambodia. Because the truth is, even though it rains almost every day -- sometimes in torrents so thick you can barely see -- it rarely lasts more than an hour or two. And the effect is usually refreshing.
The rain clears the air, washes away the dust and cools down everything. The landscape turns lush and fragrant, colors take on richer hues and, instead of scorching tropical sun, you get constantly changing light and spectacular sunsets. For photographers in particular, it's the only time to go”.
Indeed, the “wet” season is the perfect time to visit Siem Reap and the magnificent temples of ancient Khmer empire for those who do not worry about the eventual rain showers, since the overall experience is very different to the rather crowded high season from October to March, with almost no travelers around.
This article is taken from The Washington Post”, dated November 04, 2007. |
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