There are few places as amazing as Angkor Wat. I was
there two years ago, and vividly remember coming upon the ruins there for the first time, how they seemed to rise
out of the mist and transport me back 500 years. The place took my breath away. And so it is with profound sadness that
I read this article on the looting
that is taking place at Angkor today. Cambodia is a very poor place. Happily, it has overcome the horrors of its recent
past, and there is something that might almost be called a vibrant optimism in places like Phnom Penh today. But
it is still third world, and so the resources to protect the countries’ amazing antiquities is just not there.