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Google Street View? A few years ago I saw a social media shared pic of sunrise at Angkor Wat. It was beautiful, these splendid, isolated ruins, peaceful in th

Google Street View? A few years ago I saw a social media shared pic of sunrise at Angkor Wat. It was beautiful, these splendid, isolated ruins, peaceful in the sunrise. Being curious about the area, I found the exact spot in Street View. Sunrise even. But then turned around 180 degrees. To find an absolute wall of photographers all capturing the same scene. I can't find that scene now though. But frequently these social media brags are very carefully chosen angles - why not, I do the same thing, minus the social media posting - and in Street View all you have to do is change view angle slightly to see the busy street, the commercial clutter etc.

tayo42 3y ago
Everyone takes the same photo there. the temples with the reflection in still water. all the tour guides take you the same place for the sun rise. angkor wat isnt some off the beaten path temple though. its like the only thing to do in siem reap, its gotta be cambodias biggest tourist attraction besides misery tourism in phnom penh.
- desertrider12 3y ago
  Angkor Wat isn't the only temple around Siem Reap, though. I agree that standing around with hundreds of people waiting for the sun to come up, then all crowding inside at the same time isn't the best experience. But on that same day, other temples in the area (Pre Rup, Neak Pean and Banteay Srei) had at most one other small group there. And really they're almost as impressive in their own ways - Neak Pean is small but has a beautiful reflecting pool surrounding the central structure. Same thing in Egypt too. Great pyramids are extremely crowded and you're constantly getting hassled by people selling crap. But at the less famous Dahshur area, or the less accessible Philae/Abu Simbel temples, nobody else was there and we could appreciate them in peace. For that it helped to go in the summer (low) season too.
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deanCommie 3y ago
I have this sad realization that the current generation is taking the backlash to this too far, and as as a result people don't want to go anywhere that's too "touristy" as a result. I get it. I want the solo unique ethereal earth-changing experiences too. But I can also point to two distinct comparison points. I got to have a fairly tourist-free experience in Angkor Wat. I intentionally travelled to Southeast Asia during the lowest time of the year - monsoon season. And I wound up in Siem Riep anand then Angkor in the middle of a rainstorm. Nobody was around. Yet the rain was warm. The temples were equally majestic. I had an incredible time feeling like I was actually exploring ancient undiscovered ruins by myself. Then the rain ended, and oh my, all those reflections. It was incredible. This was 2008. I don't know if this is possible today even in the "lowest" tourist season. But that's not the point, the point is that while I do cherish the memories of this day, I got to have an exactly opposite experience at Taj Mahal. By which i mean it was the HEIGHT of tourist season. I was in India for a Wedding and had no choice. It was hot. It was miserable. There were people everywhere. AND YET. The Taj Mahal was absolutely magnificent. A true wonder of humanity and our history. An absolutely incredible experience, and watching how the changing evening light danced off the marble and evolved the building was mindblowing. It didn't matter that there were seemingly 20,000 other people there with me. The democratization of travel is a good thing. That more and more people are exposed to other cultures and worlds is a good thing. That it inevitably brings photographers, instagrammers, influencers, and all the commercial activities associated with it are sad, but also ultimately worth it. I say this on a macro humanist scale. I'm sure the locals at cities that live in those "tourist traps" would greatly disagree and are desperate for change. But I'm not writing this to them. I'm writing this to folks on the internet that i know are out there that go "Ugh, I wish I could go see Angkor Wat/Taj Mahal/Leaning Tower of Pisa/Empire State Building, but I don't want to deal with the tens of thousands of tourists all taking the exact same picture." Forget all that. Go. Go where you want to go. Don't let the presence of anyone else affect your experience.
- doix 3y ago
  Totally agree, even have a similar anecdote. I managed to visit Angkor Wat in March 2020, when people were just starting to take COVID seriously and Chinese tourists couldn't travel anywhere. Quite a few times it was just me and my friends walking around with nobody else around. My contrasting experience was when I visited the pyramids last summer. Still thousands of people despite it being +40 degrees. It was hot and crowded, but it was still amazing. > but I don't want to deal with the tens of thousands of tourists all taking the exact same picture Yeah, I probably took the same picture as everyone else. The way I see it, every picture is unique, even if some are very similar [0]. My picture is to remind me of the time I was there, I want the shit weather and my shitty camera captured as part of the moment. [0] https://www.livescience.com/61970-photo-wave-coincidence.html https://www.livescience.com/61970-photo-wave-coincidence.htm...
tim333 3y ago
Here's Angkor with I think the sunrise and photographers https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501255614/angkor-wat-voted-worlds-best-sunrise/ https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501255614/angkor-wat-voted-worl... but that place was voted "has been voted as the world’s best place to see a sunrise" hence the popularity. Angkor is actually a huge place (400+ acres) and it's quite possible to avoid the crowds especially if you have your own transport.

tayo42 3y ago

Everyone takes the same photo there. the temples with the reflection in still water. all the tour guides take you the same place for the sun rise. angkor wat isnt some off the beaten path temple though. its like the only thing to do in siem reap, its gotta be cambodias biggest tourist attraction besides misery tourism in phnom penh.

desertrider12 3y ago
Angkor Wat isn't the only temple around Siem Reap, though. I agree that standing around with hundreds of people waiting for the sun to come up, then all crowding inside at the same time isn't the best experience. But on that same day, other temples in the area (Pre Rup, Neak Pean and Banteay Srei) had at most one other small group there. And really they're almost as impressive in their own ways - Neak Pean is small but has a beautiful reflecting pool surrounding the central structure. Same thing in Egypt too. Great pyramids are extremely crowded and you're constantly getting hassled by people selling crap. But at the less famous Dahshur area, or the less accessible Philae/Abu Simbel temples, nobody else was there and we could appreciate them in peace. For that it helped to go in the summer (low) season too.

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deanCommie 3y ago

I have this sad realization that the current generation is taking the backlash to this too far, and as as a result people don't want to go anywhere that's too "touristy" as a result. I get it. I want the solo unique ethereal earth-changing experiences too. But I can also point to two distinct comparison points. I got to have a fairly tourist-free experience in Angkor Wat. I intentionally travelled to Southeast Asia during the lowest time of the year - monsoon season. And I wound up in Siem Riep anand then Angkor in the middle of a rainstorm. Nobody was around. Yet the rain was warm. The temples were equally majestic. I had an incredible time feeling like I was actually exploring ancient undiscovered ruins by myself. Then the rain ended, and oh my, all those reflections. It was incredible. This was 2008. I don't know if this is possible today even in the "lowest" tourist season. But that's not the point, the point is that while I do cherish the memories of this day, I got to have an exactly opposite experience at Taj Mahal. By which i mean it was the HEIGHT of tourist season. I was in India for a Wedding and had no choice. It was hot. It was miserable. There were people everywhere. AND YET. The Taj Mahal was absolutely magnificent. A true wonder of humanity and our history. An absolutely incredible experience, and watching how the changing evening light danced off the marble and evolved the building was mindblowing. It didn't matter that there were seemingly 20,000 other people there with me. The democratization of travel is a good thing. That more and more people are exposed to other cultures and worlds is a good thing. That it inevitably brings photographers, instagrammers, influencers, and all the commercial activities associated with it are sad, but also ultimately worth it. I say this on a macro humanist scale. I'm sure the locals at cities that live in those "tourist traps" would greatly disagree and are desperate for change. But I'm not writing this to them. I'm writing this to folks on the internet that i know are out there that go "Ugh, I wish I could go see Angkor Wat/Taj Mahal/Leaning Tower of Pisa/Empire State Building, but I don't want to deal with the tens of thousands of tourists all taking the exact same picture." Forget all that. Go. Go where you want to go. Don't let the presence of anyone else affect your experience.

doix 3y ago
Totally agree, even have a similar anecdote. I managed to visit Angkor Wat in March 2020, when people were just starting to take COVID seriously and Chinese tourists couldn't travel anywhere. Quite a few times it was just me and my friends walking around with nobody else around. My contrasting experience was when I visited the pyramids last summer. Still thousands of people despite it being +40 degrees. It was hot and crowded, but it was still amazing. > but I don't want to deal with the tens of thousands of tourists all taking the exact same picture Yeah, I probably took the same picture as everyone else. The way I see it, every picture is unique, even if some are very similar [0]. My picture is to remind me of the time I was there, I want the shit weather and my shitty camera captured as part of the moment. [0] https://www.livescience.com/61970-photo-wave-coincidence.html https://www.livescience.com/61970-photo-wave-coincidence.htm...

tim333 3y ago

Here's Angkor with I think the sunrise and photographers https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501255614/angkor-wat-voted-worlds-best-sunrise/ https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501255614/angkor-wat-voted-worl... but that place was voted "has been voted as the world’s best place to see a sunrise" hence the popularity. Angkor is actually a huge place (400+ acres) and it's quite possible to avoid the crowds especially if you have your own transport.