It has been some time since my second visit to Cambodia, but I still have vivid memories of my walks in the sun among the ruins of the temples, or of their silhouettes as they slowly took shape at dawn, half hidden by a sky veiled by thin clouds.

To visit the famous Angkor Wat temple complex, Siem Reap is the starting point. It’s a town that still maintains the legacy of French colonial and Chinese-style architecture around the Old Market. I remember Siem Reap as constantly swarming with tourists, bars, night markets, restaurants offering all kinds of cuisine, as well as tasty Khmer food, even excellent pizza cooked in a wood-fired oven.

The Meriden Hotel in Siem Reap was built on the site of an old cemetery.

"No one here is afraid of ghosts. Not anymore," says our tour guide, John (not his real name), as we pass the hotel on our way to the temples. It is not difficult to understand why, when you think of Cambodia's tragic history.

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