During the 1970s, Cambodia suffered greatly at the hands of Pol Pot, whose Khmer Rouge erased not only the lives of as many as two million people but also scores of the country’s cultural and historical artifacts. As a result, records of old Cambodia are hard to come by these days.
Even so, Ancient Adventures Cambodia managed to dig up some mesmerizing 1930s footage of Angkor Wat that documents the temples themselves as well as the people of Siem Reap.
The program’s voiceover is particularly Eurocentric – feel free to watch the video on mute – but the footage itself is a window into the past. In the black-and-white clip, Cambodian boxers trade blows on the walkway in front of Angkor Wat long before it was crowded with foreign tourists, and Buddhist monks climb temple stairs not yet pockmarked by the bullets of Khmer Rouge soldiers.
Take a look below:
[Video via Ancient Adventures Cambodia]
