Angkor Panorama Museum

The view was breathtaking – 360 degrees out to the horizon. Our eyes swept out over a landscape of villages and green rice paddies, taking in the Tonle Sap lake and majestic temples.
Out towards the lake, a rain cloud was releasing its heavy burden. To the north, elephants carted big loads to the construction site of Bayon temple. A plume of smoke was rising in the foreground and scenes of war turned the village below us into chaos.
We were at the recently-opened Angkor Panorama Museum, on Road 60 in Siem Reap, admiring the incredible diorama and panoramic oil painting.
We were lucky to get a sneak preview, a few weeks before it opened and it was nothing like we expected. Well, to be perfectly honest, we didn’t really know what to expect when a friend and tour operator invited us to “a cultural event”. The Joker even got dressed up in his jeans and shoes for the occasion.
On opening day I went back and interviewed the museum’s deputy CEO Chandaroat Yit.

Chandoroat was enthused by the project, which has been four years in the making and took 63 artists to create. The panorama includes more than 45,000 people and depicts three different periods of the Angkorian empire – a period of construction, prosperity and war.
He said the outline for the artwork, which was drawn onto the wall, took a year to design and was checked for accuracy by a team of Khmer experts approved by the Apsara Authority. The final painting took another four months.

Photos don’t do justice to the panorama, which is about 122 metres around and more than 12 metres high.
But it is so much more than just an oil painting. You view it as if standing on top of Phnom Bakheng and the sides sloping away from the top have real dirt, stone and gravel. There are 3D trees and shrubs, stilt houses and models of people and animals.
The cool air-conditioned setting is all that detracts from the surreal feeling you are looking out over the vast landscape. It takes a very keen eye to determine where the 3D works finish and the painting begins. I couldn’t pick it.
It takes a lot to impress the Joker — especially when it comes to art — but we were both blown away by the detail and how real the scene felt. The splash of water from horses hooves caught in the late afternoon sunlight, birds flying high in the sky and the many intricate details of daily living all bring it to life. We spent ages taking in the detail and it still wasn’t enough.
The museum also includes a 204-seat theatre, featuring a 20-minute animated movie about the construction of the temples. It is well done and informative. Chandaroat says there are plans for more animated movies in the future.
The area on the outside of the panorama has been filled with detailed and well-presented information about the temples and their construction. It includes a model display of the temples in the Angkor Wat and surrounding complex and puts a visit to the temples into perspective.

Controversially, the $24 million museum was funded by North Korean company Mansudae and critics are claiming it is a money-spinner for the communist nation and are warning tourists to stay away.
Chandaroat says the first 10 years will be a recovery period, allowing North Korea to recover the costs of its investment. As soon as the money has been recovered a second 10-year period will be entered in which Cambodia and North Korea share the profits 50/50. After that Cambodia will be given 100 per cent ownership.
It might be a way for North Korea to get hard currency in the coffers but it is also an incredible art work and testament to the talents of the artists involved and definitely worth a visit.
By no means do we think the Angkor Panorama Museum should replace a visit to the ancient temples around Siem Reap. Rather, we think they add to your visit, putting the size and scale and the historic details into context.
Entry to the general information area is free. Entry to the panorama is $15 and the movie is $5.