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Bloomberg

One of the hottest viral trends – where people sprint, leap and crash around Cambodia’s historic Angkor Wat and other temple ruins in the Southeast Asian nation in a live recreation of a popular video game – has conservationists aghast.
Several say the race for views denigrates the almost 900-year-old sculptures and risks irreparable damage.
Short videos of visitors running down narrow stone pathways and vaulting over passageways – often overlaid with sounds from the Temple Run video game – have been making the rounds on TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and other platforms.
Some videos have received more than 2 million views and inspire copycat versions daily.


Simon Warrack, a conservationist who has worked for three decades to preserve the nearly millennia-old ruins at Angkor, is troubled by the potential damage as well as the cultural and religious insensitivities being trampled on.
“You wouldn’t run through St Peters in Rome or any Western church, so why is it OK to do it in Cambodia?” he says.
“It’s not just potential damage to the stones by people bumping into them and falling or knocking things over – which is real – but it’s also damage to the spiritual and cultural value of the temples.”
Warrack says he has spoken to Cambodian counterparts and officials overseeing the complex who share his concerns.
“Angkor Wat is still deeply revered by the people,” he says. “Every stone is considered to contain the spirits of the ancestors.”

The episode highlights the challenge many historic sites face these days to balance increased tourism, sustainability and local life, particularly in a post-Covid world where revenge travel is still a thing. The trend also underscores the sway that influencers and social media have in driving tourism.
Cambodia is not the only destination to see an uptick in bad behaviour, but whereas other hotspot tourist meccas including Indonesia and Spain have taken steps to tame unruly visitors – Indonesia deports the worst offenders – the authority that oversees the Angkor temple complex has not issued any reprimands to discourage the viral trend.
International visitors to Cambodia have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels and even some Cambodians themselves have said on social media that the trend is good for boosting much-needed arrival numbers.
For many holiday seekers, social media is a top source of travel inspiration, according to an American Express trends report.
Nearly three in four millennials and Gen Zs surveyed said they have taken part in social media trends while on holiday, while around half said they want to show off their travels to impress their followers.


In the temple run challenge, many videos feature people in their 20s, some running in dresses and shawls.
Angelina Dougherty, a Cambodian-American who was crowned Miss Pacific Asian-American in a pageant in 2023, also joined the trend with a video of her and another woman running and leaping through the temple, similar to moves in the video game. Dougherty did not respond to a request for comment.
Hollywood introduced Angkor Wat to much of the world when the 2001 movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was filmed at the complex’s Angkor Thom temple.
Then came Temple Run, a video game developed by Imangi Studios in 2011, where players control a character who runs through temple ruins and must avoid obstacles and demonic creatures who give chase.
The background for Temple Run features stonework and passageways that are very similar to the ruins at Angkor.
It’s nonsense … if you fall or stumble, you’ll touch a wall to stabilise yourself and endanger the fragile carvings
Hans Leisen, conservationist
Angkor, which is on the United Nations’ World Heritage List and consists of more than 100 temples, is one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia. The ruins are a big economic driver for the predominantly rural country.
In 2019, the 400-acre (162-hectare) compound saw a record 6.6 million tourists who brought in the equivalent of more than US$80 million in ticket sales. So far this year, the ruins have attracted some 630,000 visitors.
The complex, which includes the famous temples of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, was constructed with blocks of sandstone and has survived war, earthquakes and forest overgrowth. Over the years, international conservators have contributed to the ongoing restoration efforts.
“While the trend has temporarily boosted online interest in Angkor, it’s essential to promote safe access, educational visitation, and respect for local religious, spiritual and social significance of the sites,” says Ginevra Boatto, Cambodia country director of the World Monuments Fund, which partners with local authorities in charge of sites to help protect them.
New visitor trends should be “carefully managed to prevent any negative impact”, she adds.

Some of the videos do feature caveats that the re-enactments are done in appreciation of the temples. And most responses from viewers are positive, with many excited to be introduced to the temples through the challenge.
But Hans Leisen, who has headed a German-government funded conservation project at Angkor Wat for 30 years, did not mince words in describing his reaction to the videos.
“It’s nonsense,” says Leisen, who has worked to preserve the temples’ delicate bas reliefs and carvings that tell religious stories. “If you’re running through the temple, you will not see the beauty of the carvings. And if you fall or stumble, you’ll touch a wall to stabilise yourself and endanger the fragile carvings.”


Leisen is concerned the trend could spread to other temple sites in Southeast Asia. In Bali, the Indonesian government in 2023 created a tourism task force and hotline where locals can report bad behaviour by tourists.
Authorities recently updated their guidance for the Bali’s expected 14 million visitors this year, calling on them to observe local laws and customs, which include covering up at temples and respecting the sanctity of religious sites.
In Cambodia, the Apsara National Authority, the government agency that oversees the Angkor complex, issued a code of conduct for visitors at least eight years ago that prohibits touching carvings and leaning on temple structures.
According to local media, the kingdom’s tourism minister has more recently expressed concern about potential damage to the ruins because of the viral trend. Apsara declined to comment, while the tourism ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Still, at least one Cambodian does not mind the viral challenge.
Seun Sam, a policy analyst at the royal Academy of Cambodia, says the videos could help bring much-needed tourism to Cambodia, which contributed 18 per cent to gross domestic product in 2019.
Tourism more generally in Cambodia is helping to drive the country’s expected economic growth of 5.8 per cent this year, according to the Asian Development Bank.
“As long as they do not damage the temples and bother other people, it’s OK,” says Seun, who noted that in some videos, visitors are running on paths that serve as pavements.
“Tourism is very important for Cambodia’s economy. When foreign visitors come, they buy things, they spend on hotels and transport. We want to encourage that.”


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Asia travel

Viral TikTok ‘Temple Run’ videos put Cambodia’s Angkor Wat at risk – ‘it’s nonsense’

A Facebook user’s post on a temple run at Angkor Wat. Credit Facebook

A still from a “Temple Run” video post on Facebook, filmed at Angkor Wat. Videos of tourists running around Cambodia’s ancient temple complex are going viral on TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and other social media. Photo: Facebook

A still from a user’s Facebook video post of them doing a temple run at Angkor Wat. Photo: Facebook

Tourists visit the Angkor Wat temple complex on April 7, 2022. Photo: AFP

Thailand road trip from Chiang Mai reveals fascinating sights, with few tourists

A creepy statute at Wat Mae Ead’s Purgatory Sculpture Garden, or “Hell Garden”, in Chiang Dao, Thailand. Photo:  Ronan O’Connell

A creepy statute at Wat Mae Ead’s Purgatory Sculpture Garden, or “Hell Garden”, in Chiang Dao, northern Thailand, one of the stops on a 720km road trip loop from Chiang Mai that also takes in Phayao, Nan, Phrae and Lampang. Photo:  Ronan O’Connell

The statue of King Naresuan in Mae Rim district, Chiang Mai. Photo: Shutterstock

Paper products at Elephant Poopoopaper Park in Chiang Mai. Photo: Shutterstock

Wat Mae Ead’s ornate entrance and serene hall contrasts with the horrors lurking in its “hell garden”. Photo:  Ronan O’Connell

Northern Thailand’s landscape is raw and verdant. Photo: Ronan O’Connell

Wat Tham Pha Plong is reached via a 20-minute ascent up hundreds of steps. Photo: Ronan O’Connell

Hillside villages abound in Northern Thailand. Photo: Ronan O’Connell

Naga statues on Phayao’s waterfront boulevard. Photo: Shutterstock

The Tham Pha Nang Khoi cave. Photo: Shutterstock

Pillars rise from a gorge in Phae Muang Phi Forest Park. Photo: Shutterstock 

Lampang’s Ratchadapisek Bridge. Photo: Shutterstock

How Angkor Wat alternative Koh Ker, with its tiered temples and ‘magnificent’ artefacts, gives a window into the Khmer Empire without the crowds – for now

Temple ruins at Koh Ker, in Cambodia. For tourists looking for a quieter alternative to Angkor Wat, this Unesco World Heritage site offers impressive tiered temples and artefacts said to be ‘much more dynamic’ than at other Khmer temple sites. Photo: Tamara Hinson

Temple ruins at Koh Ker, in Cambodia. For tourists looking for a quieter alternative to Angkor Wat, this Unesco World Heritage site offers impressive tiered temples and “magnificent” artefacts. Photo: Tamara Hinson

Koh Ker, with its seven tiers, more closely resembles Mexico’s Chichen Itza temple than it does many other Khmer temples. Photo: Getty Images

A guide on a rickety staircase recently nailed to the crumbling stonework of a temple at Koh Ker. Photo: Tamara Hinson

A tourist stands atop a structure at Koh Ker. Photo: Getty Images

A structure at Koh Ker partly reclaimed by nature. Photo: Tamara Hinson

One of the stone elephants that guarded the corners of the Prasat Khnar temple at Koh Ker. Photo: Tamara Hinson

Douglas Latchford (middle) and then Cambodian deputy prime minister Sok An (left) look at artefacts from the 12th and 13th centuries at the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, in 2009. Photo: AFP

A 10th-century Cambodian statue of Skanda, the Hindu god of war, astride a Peacock, stolen from a temple at Koh Ker and sold on the international art market. Photo: AFP

Away from Angkor temples, historical sites in Cambodia are being neglected in its ‘scramble for development’, with tourism potentially a loser

Newly built houses sit on top of a buried  archeological site at Srok Chek near Phnom Penh in Cambodia. Ancient sites across the country are under threat from developers, in contrast to temoles at Angkor and elsewhere that have been preserved. Photo: Peter Ford

Sand now covers the former archaeological site at Srok Chek. Photo: Peter Ford

Little of the former farmland or fish ponds remain at Srok Chek. Photo: Peter Ford

A truck carries sand to cover Srok Chek’s former archaeological site. Photo: Peter Ford

A marker post from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts at Srok Chek identifies the site as being of archaeological importance. Photo: Peter Ford

Temples, forests, a Vespa tour on luxury cruise from Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

The RV Toum Tiou II takes passengers from Koah Chen Port in Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Photo: Carmen Jenner

The RV Toum Tiou II takes passengers from Koah Chen Port in Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam via Phnom Penh, along the Tonle Sap, Mekong and Saigon rivers. Photo: Carmen Jenner

Ox carts in Kampong Tralach Leu. Photo: Carmen Jenner

A colourful fishing village on the Tonle Sap River. Photo: Carmen Jenner

Inside Phnom Penh’s Royal Palace. Photo: Carmen Jenner

Houses on the Mekong River. Photo: Carmen Jenner

A sampan ride along a canal on Thoi Son Island. Photo: Carmen Jenner

Cafes at The Cafe Apartments Building in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Carmen Jenner

The Opera House in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Carmen Jenner

Docked at Port Saigon. Photo: Carmen Jenner

Lifestyle

Travel & Leisure

Conservationists are aghast at viral videos of tourists running around Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple complex, but could they boost tourism?


Conservationists are aghast at viral videos of tourists running around Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple complex on TikTok, Facebook, YouTube – but could they boost the country’s tourism?
