Cambodia Angkor Wat - Reflecting Pool

Angkor Wat is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. It was originally constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu for the Khmer Empire, gradually transforming into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th century. It was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II.

The reflecting pool at sunrise is the classic photo of Angkor Wat. Capturing it is a mission in itself. I photographed the sunrise at Angkor Wat on five consecutive mornings. If your trip allows you multiple attempts at capturing the sunrise, do it.

Try to position yourself as close to the center of the pond as possible. The edges of the pond are prone to tourists getting in your way. During the busiest day, I saw people roll up their trousers and wade into the pond, to get in front of other people. If you are too late, moving off to the left if the water is high enough can be an option to still get a great photo.

1 - Remember insect repellant. the pond is not just a mecca for photographers and tourists, it's a mecca for bugs too and dawn is feeding time!

2 - This is by far the busiest part of the Angkor Archaeological Park and the busiest time of day. EVERYONE is here for this, bus loads of tourists arrive by 6 pm.

3 - Wild pigs are roaming in the woodland. I saw one push a tourist, his tripod and camera, into the pond! Be vigilant.

4 - Look at the astronomical conditions before you shoot. One morning, the moon was setting right before sunrise, which meant I could capture a dark sky with Angkor Wat illuminated by moonlight! There are only a handful of opportunities to photograph Angkor Wat this way each year, if this is important to you consider an app like Photopills

5 - Women and children are weaving in and out of the crowds to sell coffee. A wonderful idea and I desperately needed the caffeine. However, be careful that a stray foot does not knock your tripod during a long exposure!

Stay in the small city of Siem Reap and travel along Charles De Gaulle road to reach the temples. As a world heritage site entry tickets are required - 1,3 & 7 day tickets available.

Your tuk-tuk will park across the moat to the west. Alternatively, you will park your bicycle here if arriving on 2 wheels.

Ideally, you will want to leave your hotel by 0440 to allow enough time to arrive and have your park ticket inspected.

Get to the gates of Angkor Wat at 5 am. Not 6am, not 5:30am, but 5am. This is when the gates open. You want to get through as soon as the gates open, there is a limited amount of space by the reflecting pond, and if you aren't there within the first 10 minutes, you are unlikely to get a clear viewing position.