The city’s population swelled to a then-record 750,000. Angkor Wat continued to be a Hindu temple until the 1300s, when it was formally rededicated as a Buddhist site.

While most people have heard of Angkor Wat, they don't realize that it's just one temple in a complex of more than 1,000. The complex is actually a massive 700-year old city, with canals, temples ...

That evening, Angkor Wat lured me back again–this time to watch the sunset. Instead of being transported in a van as part of a guided tour, I took a tuk-tuk alone.

Tourists and others at the temple of Ta Prohm in Siem Reap, a popular resort town in Cambodia and a gateway to the Angkor region. (Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty Images) Perspective by Alison Kyra ...