U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, takes a tour of Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat temple

Cambodia US Michelle Obama

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, takes a tour of Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat temple complex Saturday, March 21, 2015, in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Mrs. Obama on Saturday urged Cambodian students to stay in school and take advantage of their education to demand greater freedoms and more equality in their Southeast Asian country. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

With travel restrictions in place around the world, and the coronavirus pandemic keeping would-be tourists at home, one of the world’s most famous wonders, the early 12th-century Angkor Wat and surrounding temples, has been left largely empty for months.

But for those who live in Cambodia, the pandemic has offered visitors to the Angkor Archaeological Park a rare opportunity to explore the near vacant temples in peace, quiet and solitude.

“This is really a once-in-a-multi-lifetime experience. There’s very few people in history who have ever been to Angkor alone, or very close to alone, ” says Jared Cahners, an expatriate living in Cambodia who gives food tours in Siem Reap, where the temples are located – when there are tourists to guide.