Text by Monisha Sharma
Photographs by Sonia Gangal

As we drove through the Cambodian vegetation on our three-hour journey from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, listening to dulcet Cambodian melody, nothing could have prepared us for the wonders that lay ahead.

Cambodian history is as rich as it is disturbing. Mired in political turmoil, genocide and cruelties by the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world today. Yet, as we entered the realm of the Angkor, we could not help but be amazed by the bygone cultural splendour that surrounded us.

It is hard to imagine, when you look at the scale and grandeur of the temples, that these were once covered with thick tropical jungles. The rediscovery of the Angkor is widely credited to French explorer Henri Mouhot and it was the French institution École Française d'Extrême Orient (EFEO) that started the restoration process in 1901.

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