So often, conservation attempts at Angkor Wat have resulted in disaster. “Between 1986 and 1993 in an attempt to clean the temple of lichen and prevent water erosion, many exquisite details were erased forever. Concrete was used to fill cracks.” and the damage was irreparable. Now there are more plans – some which seem ill-advised. “Who is making these decisions? The Cambodian body nominally in charge of Angkor’s 100-odd monuments is the Apsara Authority, created by Unesco in 1995. But while the Cambodians are the hosts, they are not yet the masters of their legacy: they hold the keys but not the essential resources. Within the tangle of international politics and conflicting philosophies of architectural restoration, Angkor Wat, with its beautiful honeycomb towers is, in reality, a latter-day Tower of Babel.”