Floating over Angkor

Somewhat incongruously we went from the Landmine Museum to the Angkor Wat balloon – a huge helium balloon which carries up to 12 passengers 200 metres into the air to get a view of the main Angkor Wat temple and the surrounding forests and fields. We’d chosen sunset to do it, so on one side we could see the sun turn dark red as it dipped, and on the other the reflection of that colour on the dark stones of the temple. Because it is the dry season, the view to the temple was hazy and unforgettable. Below us we could see paddy field after paddy field sitting dry and empty, waiting for the first rains of the monsoon season in May, when the farmers will all be out planting their rice plants in the flooded fields. From up high it was possible to get a real idea for the size of the Angkor site, and the way that much of it has been taken over by forest and jungle.