Sneaking into the ancient serpent-worshipping temple of Angkor Wat for photos—reporter's hundreds of pictures mysteriously...

▲ The Sky Palace dedicated to the serpent deity. (Photo / Reporter Chen Rui Zhong)

Reporter Chen Rui Zhong / Report from Cambodia

When it comes to certain Southeast Asian countries, there’s no shortage of spine-chilling tales. In July this year, while I was in Cambodia, I personally experienced an unexplainable and bizarre event.

Among the Angkor ruins lies a lesser-visited Sky Palace. Local guides reveal that this palace is said to have been a place where ancient emperors worshipped a serpent deity. Every night, the serpent spirit residing here would transform into human form, and the emperor had to climb up alone to the highest Sky Palace to spend the night with the serpent, ensuring favorable weather and prosperity for the kingdom.

However, as this palace is neither as tall nor as grand as the nearby Baphuon Temple, fewer tourists venture up the tower. The guide mentioned that adventurous visitors could climb it on their own. At this point, an enthusiastic group member S invited another member G to join the climb.

The ancient temple of Angkor Wat resembles a two-tiered pyramid. After ascending the first level, you reach a large platform; at the center of the platform stands a spire. Climbing to the top of the spire symbolizes reaching “heaven.” Since the other members were too exhausted, they decided to rest on the ground, and the guide stayed behind to look after them, choosing not to join the climb.

Upon finding the staircase entrance to the first level, S and G unexpectedly discovered a “No Entry” sign. But S, thinking, “Since we’re here, we have to go up,” ignored the warning and climbed about 30 to 40 steps to reach the first platform.

On the platform, surrounded by trees and completely empty, the ancient temple felt even more serene, with only stone carvings remaining. Still bold, S wasn’t satisfied and continued climbing the “Stairway to Heaven” along the stone steps, while G waited on the platform.

Before long, S climbed back down from the spire, saying there wasn’t much special to photograph, but noted that there were “offerings placed at the top,” which gave him the creeps. So S and G quickly descended and rejoined the rest of the group.

After concluding the visit to the ancient royal palace, the group headed to the famous Phnom Bakheng hill to watch the sunset. Upon arriving at Phnom Bakheng, S took out his camera and casually snapped a few photos—only to suddenly realize“All the photos on the memory card had completely vanished.”.

Those who frequently take photos may occasionally experience issues like memory card corruption or corrupted files, but S double-checked his memory card, which still seemed to function normally with no dead files. Yet every single one of the hundreds of photos and videos he had taken from the start of the day up to the visit to the Sky Palace had disappeared without a trace—as if someone had deleted them one by one. Only the few photos he had just taken at Phnom Bakheng remained on the memory card, almost like a warning.

Whether it was the wrath of the serpent deity or simply a bizarre electronic mishap, we still don’t know why S’s photos were all deleted. But one thing is certain—next time we see a “No Entry” sign, we definitely won’t trespass again.