Around Angkor Wat in 8 Minutes

7th November 2009

At the end of several days on the ground visiting the formidable temples of Angkor in the humid heat of Cambodia I opted for an aerial tour of the most breathtaking of them all, Angkor Wat.

There had already been a heavy rain shower just before we arrived back from the morning's visit to Angkor Thom and, as we got on board the Tuk Tuk destined for Siem Reap airport, dark grey clouds formed overhead.

As we bumped and rocked our way along the main road to the Helistar office Tra, our tour guide, advised us that the roads in town had been washed away last month in the rains.

At the office we paid our fee ($90 each) and managed to sprint back to our taxi before the skies opened up. The driver hastily unrolled the plastic flaps either side of us before setting off.

At the airport we parked up at the Helistar entrance and an English pilot stuck his head through the open back of the otherwise entombed Tuk Tuk. 'We'll be a few minutes. This is just a shower passing through', he explained.

Soon afterwards we were ushered into the airport building and asked to provide our details. 'They want our weight?' queried Janet. 'For weight and balance calculations', I quickly explained.

Finally we were taken through security and out onto the apron. Here we waded through several inches of water to the Eurocopter EC120B 'Colibri'.

The pilot was already checking out the helicopter and an attendant slid open the door enabling us to clamber into the spacious interior which could seat up to four passengers in addition to the pilot.

The cockpit controls appeared somewhat simpler than I expected, but there was no opportunity to chat. The pilot was already requesting start-up instructions from the tower. Then we were cleared for take-off.

The helicopter ascended slowly and smoothly to 700 feet before turning towards Angkor Wat.

The pilot advised the flight would take 8 minutes and over to the starboard side pointed out the naturally flooded area we had visited the day before.

Tonle Sap is sourced by the flow of the Mekong, bringing an abundance of fish and irrigation water to the area during the dry season.

Then I spotted Angkor Wat to the port side. The pilot undertook an anti-clockwise track around it so that Janet and I could take pictures first and then he reversed the orbit so Caroline could take hers.

Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious structure, was built in the 12th century. It served both as temple and mausoleum for the reigning king, Suryavarman II.

Our time was up and, as we sped back to the airport, the pilot pointed out the large man-made reservoir of the ancient Khmer civilization, the Western Baray.

Back on the ground, mission accomplished, we exited the helicopter and found ourselves being escorted back to our rather more endearing mode of transport, the Tuk Tuk.