- 8 hours ago
Josh travels to the remote and land-mine-riddled jungles of Cambodia to investigate the lost city of the Khmer Empire and search for a mystical relic that gave its god king the power to incinerate his enemies more than 1,000 years ago.
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00:00Oh, my God.
00:13That was like some power of God.
00:22Oh, my God.
00:23Look at this.
00:30I recently read a report about the discovery of a lost city deep in the jungles of Cambodia,
00:38and I jumped at the chance to investigate.
00:42I want to tell you a story that begins over a thousand years ago.
00:47It's 802 AD in Southeast Asia, and a mysterious ruler named Jayavarman II appears on the scene.
00:55Inscriptions say he founded a city in the mountains where he conducted a strange ritual.
01:00Supposedly, a mystical priest used spells and powerful magic to give a sacred stone artifact known as a linga,
01:07the divine powers of the Hindu god Shiva.
01:13The king, or anyone else who controlled the stone, would have the ability to incinerate his enemies.
01:21You remember the Shankara stones from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?
01:25Yep, those were lingas, and I think we all remember how that turned out.
01:30So, it all sounds crazy, right?
01:33But here's the thing.
01:35This ritual might just have worked.
01:37Because the so-called god-king succeeded in kick-starting a dynasty that went on to become one of the most advanced civilizations in the ancient world.
01:46Oh, and his lost city?
01:47It just got found.
01:48Using high-tech laser scanners known as LIDAR, archaeologists have stripped back the jungle and pinpointed the ruins.
01:56So, I'm setting off for Southeast Asia to see the lost city for myself.
02:00My ultimate goal?
02:01Immersing myself in Cambodia's past to discover if the legend of the linga is real.
02:07More importantly, could it hold a potentially lethal power?
02:10My name is Josh Gates.
02:18With a degree in archaeology and a passion for exploration,
02:22I have a tendency to end up in some very strange situations.
02:27There has got to be a better way to make a living.
02:30My travels have taken me to the ends of the earth as I investigate the greatest legends in history.
02:36We're good to fly. Let's go.
02:38This is Expedition Unknown.
02:49Early afternoon in the city of Phnom Penh.
02:52Shouldering the banks of the mighty Mekong River,
02:55it is a confusing and beautiful assault on the senses.
02:58I'm here to begin my journey to reach the lost city.
03:02But with a few hours to kill before meeting my first contact,
03:05I've got time to soak up the capital.
03:08Southeast Asian markets are kind of a one-stop shop for anything.
03:12We got fruit, we got flowers, we got religious offerings,
03:15dodgy stacks of foreign currency, you name it.
03:19This seafood couldn't get any fresher.
03:21Pick them up.
03:22Like, what are those?
03:26Oh!
03:28Try to escape.
03:30But the appetizers here can be a challenge.
03:36What in the holy hell is this thing?
03:40I mean, this is from another planet.
03:44A water cockroach, of course, delicious in the hot afternoon sun.
03:46A lot of protein.
03:53A lot of protein in this.
03:58And if the city doesn't overwhelm you, there's always the heat.
04:03Let's talk about the temperature for a second.
04:05I wish there was a way for me to communicate this.
04:07Picture being inside a wood-burning oven that is inside a volcano that is on the surface of the sun.
04:13That's roughly where we're at right now in terms of temperature.
04:16It's warm.
04:17There have been many landlords here, and most did little to impress their tenants.
04:25In the past 100 years alone, this has been French Indochina, a Japanese-occupied territory, and a kingdom torn apart by civil war.
04:33In the middle of town sits Tuol Sveipre High School, which was turned into a detention center during the country's darkest chapter.
04:42From 1975 to 1979, Cambodia fell under the thumb of the Khmer Rouge, a radical communist party that longed to return to the glory of the Khmer Empire and to exercise their own godlike powers.
04:58They tried, in a sense, to turn back time by emptying the cities and forcing the population into primitive agricultural slavery.
05:07The sick, the educated, anyone who spoke out, was killed.
05:12When it was all over, more than 2 million people died in the Cambodian genocide.
05:24Today, they stare back at visitors in a stunned collective silence.
05:30A lot of these people knew when the photo was taken that they were going to be executed.
05:36This young kid, they got a chain around his neck, and he's about to be killed.
05:42Apologies.
05:54Some things are just too insane to make sense of.
05:57But against the odds, hope has proved irrepressible in Cambodia.
06:07And today, life goes on.
06:10What are these guys?
06:12Good luck.
06:13I need some good luck.
06:14Cambodia's tarnished capital is today in the midst of a rebirth.
06:18You ready for this?
06:18Yeah.
06:19Here we go.
06:19Everywhere you look, life is returning to normal.
06:26This I can get used to.
06:38Done?
06:39Seriously.
06:39Sure.
06:40Cheers.
06:40My first mission is to sit down with my old friend, Nick Ray, one of the first journalists
06:47to jump on the story of the lost city, whose name I can barely pronounce.
06:51It's called Mahindra Parvata?
06:52Mahindra Parvata.
06:52Yeah, exactly.
06:54And basically, using this new technology called LIDAR, this sort of military-grade high technology
06:58that can pierce through the earth and the jungle canopy, they suddenly found out that
07:02this was a much bigger city, a vast, vast complex up on this jungle plateau.
07:07It's the birthplace of the Khmer Empire.
07:09It's where, in 802, Jayavarman II, he invoked the power of the Hindu god Shiva.
07:15So, how does one become a god king?
07:19What's the move?
07:21He takes a linga.
07:22Linga in Hinduism is a phallic symbol.
07:26And this holy priest uses these magic rituals to bring this power of Shiva down into this
07:31object, which is then put into a yoni, or a female fertility symbol.
07:37And this gives Jayavarman II and the power of Shiva on earth to make him the most powerful
07:42king Southeast Asia had ever seen.
07:45Is there a lot of local lore and legend about the mountain itself?
07:49Definitely so.
07:50It's certainly belief that there could be the ghost of the god king himself.
07:53It's a place, you know, of real, real mystery.
07:57From here, the ruins are 200 miles away.
08:01Nick suggests I travel from Phnom Penh by 4x4, through the city of Badambang, and then
08:06to the ancient capital of Siem Reap, which is just 30 miles from the dig site.
08:10Once you're in Siem Reap, you're okay to go up by dirt bike or four-wheel drive to get
08:14to the main part of the mountain.
08:16Then your problems start.
08:17The roads are going to be a big issue because, well, there aren't any roads.
08:22And then there's the landmines.
08:26Why is it so mine?
08:27Because the Khmer Rouge, they were overthrown pretty much from 79 until the late 1990s.
08:32They hid up there, and to defend it against the government, they planted mines everywhere.
08:36And how much of that mountain do you think has been cleared?
08:38None of them have deemed in mind.
08:40Do not stray from the path.
08:42Josh, can I give you a pop-up?
08:43Oh, yeah.
08:44I'll tell you one thing.
08:45I'm never going to find this lost city if we keep drinking.
08:52By the light of a new day, I'm leaving Phnom Penh and following Nick's directions to the
08:56north.
08:57So it should be about an eight-hour drive up to Siem Reap through the city of Badambang.
09:01In Badambang, I plan to meet with an expert who knows more about the legendary power of
09:07the Linga.
09:10Driving here is not for the faint of heart, as lanes are merely suggestions, and other
09:15drivers crowd the road with slightly oversized loads.
09:22But beyond the grip of the city, the traffic fins, and my Cambodian road trip is finally
09:27getting underway.
09:28It's a bit like driving in a time machine.
09:31With each passing mile, the trappings of the modern world fade and give way to a landscape
09:36and ways of life that haven't changed much in the last thousand years.
09:48As soon as you get outside of the cities, it all just drops away.
09:51Tons of rice paddies, a lot of agriculture, very rural.
09:54Nearly six hours into the drive, however, it's back to reality.
10:02Well, I was making a really good time.
10:05And now, I am driving in a field.
10:13Okay, this is not good.
10:16With the construction backed up for miles and no other road, I'm going to have to find another
10:20way to get to Badambang.
10:22Next.
10:23Luckily, there's a train here.
10:25Sort of.
10:27All aboard the Bamboo Railroad.
10:36A bullet train, it is not, but it gets the job done.
10:39When the French abandoned their stake in Cambodia in 1953, they took their trains, but left behind
10:45the tracks.
10:46Is there a bathroom on this?
10:47No.
10:47So the enterprising locals made their own locomotives, also known as a creaking wooden platform powered
10:53by a rubber belt and an outboard motor.
10:55The tracks are barely aligned, and the bridges aren't exactly up to code.
11:00Dodgy bridge.
11:01Generally, the whole thing feels like an open-air deathtrap, which is to say, it's pretty awesome.
11:15For me?
11:17Oh, thank you very much.
11:19Yes, I look like a middle-aged woman on an Eat, Pray, Love tour, but considering the 115
11:24degree heat, I'm cool with that.
11:25The Bamboo Railroad is an ingenious system.
11:30That is, until you realize that these tracks are used to travel in both directions.
11:36Uh-oh.
11:38We're gonna die.
11:48I'm crossing Cambodia to reach a lost city deep in the jungle.
11:53I was headed to interview an expert.
11:55Who I hope can give me more information on the supernatural artifact that could be hiding
12:00in the ruins, when suddenly, I encounter an oncoming train.
12:06Uh-oh.
12:07We're gonna die.
12:16Hi.
12:18One, two, three, four, five, six, versus one, two, three, four, five.
12:24Okay, we lose.
12:26Standoffs along the Bamboo Railroad are solved without argument.
12:29The Arbiter?
12:30Simple math.
12:31The train with more passengers wins.
12:33Yai, yai, yai, yai, yai.
12:35And the losers have to disassemble their locomotive and move the whole contraption further down
12:39the line.
12:40Okay.
12:41Okay.
12:45Good?
12:46Okay, we're back.
12:48All aboard.
12:51Next stop, Badambang.
12:53After several more kilometers of ass-busting travel, we sputter our way into Badambang.
12:58Though the rail yards here have seen better days, this is, in many ways, the heart and soul
13:06of the country.
13:11It is a patchwork quilt of history.
13:14Remnants of war.
13:16Signs of peace.
13:17Just another confusing day in Cambodia.
13:27I have a few hours before my meeting with an antiquities expert, so I hike up to the edge
13:32of a remote mountain for a glimpse of something magical.
13:35Every night at sunset, about a million bats supposedly shoot out of this cave, going out
13:40to feed for the night.
13:43This should be quite a show.
13:47This should be quite a show.
14:17He is the expert who has insider information about the lost city.
14:20He has agreed to be interviewed only if we hide his identity, since the ruins could be
14:25targeted by Tomb Raiders.
14:27Not the hot girl from the video game, but actual, real-life Tomb Raiders.
14:32It is a real problem.
14:33It is a very big problem.
14:34So if I want to buy a relic, I want to buy a sandstone, small sandstone statue from a dig,
14:40how much do you think?
14:41The one in the good condition, it costs more than 10,000 US dollar.
14:47Wow.
14:47Yeah.
14:48And so, what about this lost city?
14:49Is this a place that looters are targeting?
14:52Yes.
14:53What do they hope to find there?
14:54Sandstone statues.
14:56Mm-hmm.
14:56Do the looters know where the dig site is yet?
15:07I think they know.
15:08You think they do know?
15:09It is their business, yeah?
15:11Yeah.
15:11So they always keep their ears open.
15:16If these artifacts fall in the hands of the bad people, we are not only losing the artifacts,
15:24but we are losing the identity of our country.
15:33Early the next morning, I'm renewing my efforts to reach Siem Reap, the gateway to the lost city.
15:38I've taken the Bamboo Railroad to its last stop, so I'm switching to Cambodia's original highway system.
15:44It's a six-hour steam from Badambang to Siem Reap, with my route taking me across the great Tonle Sap Lake.
15:51It was once the lifeblood of the ancient Khmer Empire, and for countless modern Cambodians, it still is.
15:59So this is the floating village.
16:01You've got 5,000, 10,000 people living out here in hundreds of these floating homes.
16:06It's basically a totally self-sufficient ecosystem.
16:10They've got markets, gas stations, restaurants, schools, churches, you name it.
16:18It's pretty amazing.
16:22It even has its own version of a 7-Eleven.
16:25Hey, I want something to drink.
16:26Do you have beer?
16:28One.
16:29One.
16:29I mean, you know, I get used to this.
16:50New day, new city.
16:51I finally made it to the edge of Siem Reap, but now I have to face the biggest threat to my journey, landmines.
16:59I'm at the nearby Cambodian Landmine Museum to meet with Aki Ra, one of the world's foremost authorities on their disposal.
17:06Aki Ra.
17:07Hi.
17:07Hello.
17:08Hello.
17:08Nice to see you.
17:09Nice to see you, too.
17:10Aki Ra, yes.
17:10Thank you very much for talking with me.
17:12I appreciate it.
17:13How long have you been clearing landmines?
17:15For 20 years.
17:17How many landmines are left in Cambodia?
17:21Still 4 or 5 million left.
17:234 or 5 million?
17:24Yeah.
17:25Active landmines?
17:26Yeah.
17:27And how old were you when you became Khmer Rouge?
17:30About 10 years old.
17:32Aki Ra was recruited as a child soldier after the Khmer Rouge murdered both of his parents.
17:38Under their command, he personally laid thousands of mines.
17:41Now, he's on a mission of redemption, personally removing every explosive he can find.
17:47How many do you think that you've cleared?
17:49I cleared almost 50,000 landmines.
17:52And will you show me how to spot them?
17:54Yeah, I can show you.
17:56Will it be safe?
17:57Safe, yeah.
17:59Aki Ra agrees to teach me how to avoid mines by taking me along for a first-hand look at the terrifying reality that all Cambodians have to live with.
18:08This is not a good sign.
18:10This minefield was discovered right next to a village and has not been fully cleared.
18:15What is this going to do?
18:16The protective suits aren't exactly out of the Hurt Locker.
18:20Great.
18:22Okay, follow me, please.
18:33Not safe.
18:35Not safe.
18:37Safe.
18:37Did he find something?
18:50Yeah, yeah.
18:52He found a mine?
18:53Yeah.
18:55This is about three feet from where I'd been walking not five minutes ago.
18:59So he's just found a landmine back there.
19:05He's going to reveal it a little bit, and then they're going to get ready to detonate it.
19:10If you stepped on that, it would take off your leg.
19:12Yeah.
19:13Are there any other things I should avoid?
19:16Places I should not go?
19:17Many leaves like this.
19:19Be careful.
19:20It's a leaf cover.
19:21Uh-huh.
19:21Yeah.
19:21And what else?
19:23Like this, you can step on.
19:25Uh-huh.
19:25But when the tree grow up like this, you can step on.
19:29Uh-huh.
19:29So anywhere there's a tree, right there is pretty safe?
19:32Yeah.
19:33Okay.
19:36Having spent some time learning critical skills on where to step in these booby-trap jungles,
19:41it's time to detonate this mine from a safe distance.
19:44Mine is transported by hand to a safe detonation place, which seems insane.
19:51And so now what happens?
19:53You're going to blow it up here?
19:55Yeah, I'll destroy it here.
19:56Sounds sketchy.
20:00Let's do it.
20:01I think you have a tough job.
20:03This is a dangerous job.
20:06Sit down like this.
20:08Uh-huh.
20:08Because the explosive will come like this.
20:12Uh-huh.
20:12Protect only in front.
20:13Get this in place.
20:14Yeah, yeah, yeah.
20:15You have to close your neck because a lot of fragments come.
20:19Yeah.
20:20Okay, so this goes up here, yes?
20:22Okay, and then straight.
20:23Got it.
20:24Okay, the device is armed.
20:27Stand by.
20:28Stand by.
20:29And firing now.
20:33While investigating an active minefield in Cambodia, a powerful explosive has been discovered just a few feet away.
20:44Disposing of these mines requires moving them by hand before rigging them with a detonator.
20:48Stand by.
20:50Stand by.
20:54And firing now.
20:59Oh, unbelievable.
21:1030 foot by 60 foot explosion just from this one little device.
21:14One more down, four or five million to go.
21:17Thank you, Akira.
21:18After seeing what one mine is capable of, I'm heading into the city of Siem Reap with a new appreciation for the dangers beneath my feet.
21:33Legend says that on a nearby mountain, King Jayavarman II used powerful magic, placing a sacred stone relic known as a linga into a pedestal called a yanni, allowing him to tap into the power of the gods.
21:48And down here in Siem Reap, there is compelling evidence of that power.
21:56This town was little more than a provincial outpost when French explorers pushed through the dense jungles in the 19th century on a mission to rediscover lost temples.
22:05What they found was far beyond anything they could have ever imagined.
22:09Nearly 50 years after taking power, Jayavarman II passed away, his city swallowed by the jungle.
22:21But the empire he started only grew.
22:25Future kings moved down the mountain and used the same magic and rituals, and what they built here does seem beyond the ability of mortal men.
22:33From the overgrown ruins of T'Prom, to the majestic stone gates of Angkor Thom, each king attempted to outdo his predecessor on a scale that's almost unimaginable.
22:46One god-king constructs a sandstone temple.
22:49Another installs a 2,000-foot-long royal bathtub.
22:54One even plastered 216 massive carvings of his own face on the soaring Bayon Temple.
23:00And at the center of it all sits Angkor Wat, the largest religious structure in the world.
23:07A 600-foot-wide hand-dug moat kept back the cloying vines of the jungle, preserving the mother of all temples.
23:14It is quite literally heaven on earth.
23:17A representation of the home of the Hindu gods, and of course, the king.
23:21John Mikzik is an expert on the Khmer Empire, and knows the exact coordinates of the ruins.
23:28But I also want his opinion on the linga, before risking my life on a wild goose chase.
23:32Tell me about Phnom Kulen, the holy mountain.
23:35This is where Jayavarman II became a god-king?
23:38Yes.
23:38For hundreds of years thereafter, they always refer to that ritual.
23:43Makes it a pretty potent object, I would assume.
23:45That's right, it could instantly turn you into ashes.
23:48So what do you think happened to Jayavarman II's linga?
23:51What do you think happened to this potent image of Shiva?
23:53Could it still be up there in the jungle?
23:55It could well be.
23:55I would not put it out of the range of possibility.
23:58It's only now being cleared off.
24:00Anxious to reach the remote dig site, I decide to take a direct route to the mountain.
24:04John agrees to drop me off as close as possible to the lost city.
24:14Our flight plan will take us 30 miles north of Siem Reap, to a remote village on the mountain.
24:20From there, I'll use John's coordinates to reach the dig site by motorbike.
24:25In terms of these dig sites, what are they actively digging up right now?
24:29Well, what we're looking at now, we're hoping, is that I will win the second college.
24:32That's incredible.
24:33For the Cambodians, to find Jayavarman II's palace, would be one of the major discoveries of all time.
24:40Soaring high above the jungles, the country seems to unfold like an endless green map.
24:46And soon, the ground rises up as we approach our destination.
24:51That's Phnom Phu Lan, straight ahead of us now.
24:53There it is. There's Phnom Phu Lan.
24:55The holy mountain.
24:57There's only one road up there, and as the rest is all, footpaths through the forest.
25:01So, it's still heavily forested, still landmines.
25:04Still landmines, I'm afraid.
25:05There's still lots of wild animals up there, too.
25:11Beautiful.
25:11I'm on my way to find a lost Cambodian city that's rumored to hold a mystical and powerful artifact
25:33that has the power to turn men into gods.
25:40The pilot descends onto a clearing in a mountain village.
25:44John has given me the coordinates to find the lost city,
25:47and has dropped me as close as possible to the dig site.
25:50I've finally reached the holy mountain of the god king.
25:56Granted, it wasn't my most subtle entrance.
25:59Sassade!
26:00Sassade! Sassade!
26:02Whole village turned out.
26:07Now it gets really hard.
26:08This is the village of Prea Ang Tam.
26:14It's the absolute end of the line for most,
26:17since it's impossible to drive a 4x4 any deeper into the interior.
26:21It's also home to a mystical temple,
26:23where visitors come to stock up on spiritual protection for the journey ahead.
26:27It's hot, and that's a lot of stairs.
26:35Okay.
26:42Amidst the smoke,
26:44the monks,
26:44and the religious relics,
26:46is this.
26:49A stone linga and yanni pedestal,
26:52and they're still being used in sacred rituals.
26:55This is essentially a modern version of
26:57of what has evolved from the original ceremony
26:59that Jayavarman II did in 802 AD.
27:09A Hindu priest blesses supplicants with water,
27:12which is made holy by flowing around the linga,
27:18and through the yanni.
27:20And while I'm not sure this particular rock
27:21is going to turn me into a god king,
27:24considering I'm about to go into a deadly jungle,
27:26I'll take all the help I can get.
27:32At a bare minimum,
27:33it's the first shower I've had in three days.
27:35Put your arm.
27:35I head back into the village for the most challenging part of my trip.
27:43To reach the archaeologists at the dig site,
27:46I'll have to navigate through a heavily landmined jungle.
27:49To do that,
27:49I need some wheels.
27:50I need a bike.
27:52I need a motorcycle for rent.
27:53I can rent?
27:54I can rent?
27:54I can rent?
27:54Yeah.
27:55Yeah?
27:55This one comes with half a bottle of water,
27:57which is good.
27:58And this one has a sweet basket.
28:00This guy looks pretty beat up.
28:01I don't want this.
28:03What about that bike?
28:03And then I saw her.
28:06The marginally least crappy bike in the fleet.
28:10This, you're hiding the good bike.
28:11This is the good one, yeah?
28:12This is number one.
28:13Yeah, number one.
28:14Okay, I'll take this one.
28:15A momentary pit stop in the rural Cambodian version of a gas station for a quick fill-up.
28:20Give me the high octane.
28:21Give me the Fanta.
28:22That's the high test stuff, right?
28:23The Cambodian gas station fuel is in a old soda bottle.
28:29Feels like there's a little bit of potential for some dangerous confusion there, but hey, it works.
28:33And then it's time to head into the unknown.
28:44My goal is close at hand, to be one of the first outsiders to document the lost city
28:49and look for evidence that the story of Jayavarman's ceremony is more than just a myth.
28:54Lost city?
28:55Here I come.
28:57On either side of these narrow trails, the mountain is littered with deadly explosives,
29:02and staying upright is something of a challenge.
29:07This is some f***ing road.
29:09Whoa!
29:10Almost went down there.
29:15Oh!
29:16Can somebody get a machete back here, please?
29:19After a punishing ride, I spot a clearing and pull the bike over.
29:25What I see next takes my breath away.
29:31Look at this!
29:34I have finally reached the edge of the lost city of Mahendra Parvada.
29:39No tourists, no people.
29:42If you want to talk about real discovery, real adventure, this is it.
29:46There's nobody up here.
29:47Nobody comes up here.
29:49These stone temples are a thousand years old and were first spotted by French archaeologists
29:54in the 1930s.
29:54Amazing.
29:55However, the full extent of the ruins remained elusive until just recently.
30:00Unbelievable.
30:00Look at that.
30:02So cool.
30:04Nearby, there's more evidence that I'm headed toward the heart of the lost city.
30:08So at one time, this is a road that would have gone all the way down to the valley below,
30:17down to where Angkor Wat is today.
30:19And people would have made a pilgrimage up here to the Holy Mountain.
30:22And they've carved these incredible stone animals up here.
30:32Over the hill, I discover something else.
30:35People.
30:36Here, far from the outside world, an army of excavators is living and working deep in the jungle
30:42to reveal a city buried for centuries.
30:46With the threat of looters, few outsiders are allowed to see the site.
30:50And I'm lucky that John called ahead and secured permission.
30:52Thank you, Chen.
30:54Welcome.
30:55You must be Joss.
30:56Yes, nice to meet you.
30:57That's my good friend, Darif.
30:59Nice to meet you.
31:02Let's start with this.
31:03Why did you choose to hone in on this area?
31:06Well, we suspect that this was the royal compound for the very first king of the Angkor Wat Empire.
31:14So you think that this area we're in now was part of Jai Varman II's royal enclosure?
31:18To the best of our knowledge, to the best of the information that we have today, we believe it is a society.
31:27Tell me a little bit about what the LIDAR showed up here.
31:30Oh, okay.
31:31Well, LIDAR is a very new technology where they send this light through various levels of the canopy, right?
31:36It's a bit like radar.
31:37Literally, it shows you the outline.
31:40LIDAR works by firing bursts of lasers from above.
31:43The beams allow archaeologists to virtually strip back the jungle canopy and see not only ruins, but objects hidden underground.
31:52In this case, the LIDAR revealed the lost city of Mahendra Parvada, a huge network of roads, structures, and habitations.
31:59All of this is jungle over here, and it's just stripped away, and you can see a perfect outline of the site.
32:06When the data came up, all of us was blown away.
32:09Look at those lines.
32:10Are those roads?
32:11So, like, 1,200 years ago, there were highways cutting through this plateau.
32:15It's amazing.
32:16We're right here, this little square.
32:22What would you like to find up here?
32:23I think it would be great if we can find the signature of the king, isn't it?
32:26Perhaps you find Jayavarman II's linga.
32:29That would be great.
32:35Just up the trail was Jean-Baptiste Chivance, the leading archaeologist at the Lost City.
32:40Are you JB?
32:41Who showed me another major find.
32:44So, you see this block here?
32:46Yes.
32:46It's a lateral block.
32:48This is typical of an archaeological feature.
32:50So, you started with just this?
32:51Yeah.
32:51And then, well, let's see.
32:53Yeah, show me.
32:54Before the Lidar, JB spent years up here excavating individual pieces of the city.
33:00This one stone was a clue that something was nearby.
33:05But it took the Lidar to reveal that this may have been the edge of a massive monastery.
33:12There were pretty scales with the building.
33:15Then they start the wall, which is the best preserved section we have here.
33:18These stone walls and delicate roof tiles haven't been seen by anyone for a millennium.
33:25And it turns because it continues on this way?
33:28Well, that's just the west, uh...
33:30Whoa, scorpion!
33:30My long journey to find the Lost City of the God King has brought me deep into the jungles
33:43of Cambodia.
33:44I've found spectacular ruins of the city, as well as the archaeologists who are revealing
33:49it brick by brick.
33:51I'm also learning that this is a place brimming with danger.
33:55Whoa, scorpion!
33:55Back up!
33:56Back up!
33:56Back up!
33:56Back up!
33:56Back up!
34:00JP, I just saved your life.
34:01Thanks.
34:02Thanks, man.
34:03You get a lot of these here?
34:04Yeah, yeah.
34:05Basically, the trench is a very good trap.
34:06He looks pissed off, too.
34:07Yeah, he's not happy.
34:08He's probably hungry.
34:09And then how do you get them out of there?
34:10We ask my crazy assistant to pick them up.
34:13Hey!
34:14Your pick?
34:15Yeah.
34:16He just said that you were crazy.
34:17No, no, no.
34:18Yeah, half, half.
34:19Half crazy?
34:20Yeah, half crazy.
34:21Completely crazy.
34:21What's up?
34:24What, you want that?
34:25No, I don't want it.
34:27Just don't get bitten.
34:36Pick!
34:38You are legitimately an insane person.
34:40You need to be evaluated professionally.
34:44You really do have a crazy assistant.
34:46Yeah, yeah.
34:46The trenches that I'd seen were amazing, but neither seemed to be the right fit for Jayavarman's
34:51ceremony site.
34:52To connect with the gods, he'd probably use the top of the mountain.
34:56So that's where I needed to get to.
35:00With night falling and a storm on the horizon, I was about to pack it in, when I received a
35:05surprising offer.
35:05I can take you to a place nobody knows about.
35:08Like a secret place?
35:10Yeah, like a secret place.
35:10A new place?
35:11Yeah.
35:12This is what I came for.
35:14Pick has agreed to take me to a location that archaeologists are only just beginning to
35:19explore.
35:20And we can get there in the dark?
35:21Yeah, we can get it in the dark.
35:23Well, it's very bad.
35:24Very bad.
35:24Very bad.
35:25Let's go for it.
35:25Come on.
35:26All right.
35:26Let's go.
35:26Lead the way.
35:27All right.
35:27I'm behind you.
35:28I'm behind you.
35:32With night upon us and a thunderstorm on the horizon, this could be a huge mistake.
35:37But Pick drives on, leading me to an area that is seldom seen by outsiders.
35:42Here?
35:43All right.
35:43Yeah.
35:43Here.
35:44We're near the top of the mountain.
35:50This is ground zero for the legend of Jayavarman.
35:55Could this be the spot where he conducted his mystical ceremony?
36:02With a storm fast approaching, we immediately begin to search for evidence.
36:08Whoa, whoa, whoa.
36:08Back up, back up, back up, back up, back up.
36:12Snake, snake, snake, snake, snake.
36:14Green snake?
36:16Green snake, yeah.
36:19It's poisonous, yeah?
36:20Very poisonous.
36:21Deadly poison.
36:21Deadly poison.
36:22Yeah, deadly poison.
36:23That bites us?
36:24What happens?
36:24Oh, you're dead, man.
36:27You may be crazy, but you've got a good eye.
36:30Holy ****.
36:38Look at this.
36:39Big overhang, yeah?
36:44Oh, my God, look at this.
36:55Oh, my God.
36:58These carvings look to be about 1,200 years old and are beautifully preserved.
37:03This is an incredible find and has been seen by few outsiders.
37:08And the inscriptions indicate that this site was likely used for rituals.
37:12Look at this.
37:17Hey, this is the world's worst bridge.
37:21Looks, it looks very safe.
37:24Pick, I've seen a lot of bad bridges before.
37:27This may be the worst.
37:31The worst one ever.
37:32Pick, I've seen a lot of bad bridges before.
37:43This may be the worst.
37:46The worst one ever.
37:52Oh, my God.
37:54Okay, I'll cross.
37:55Are you coming over?
37:57I weigh twice as much as you.
37:58If it didn't collapse for me, you should be fine.
38:12Oh, look at this.
38:13Huge Yoni.
38:15Pick has led us to a perfectly preserved stone Yoni.
38:18Look at the size of this thing.
38:22We'll go around the Yoni.
38:24Coming up during the Yoni.
38:26Yeah.
38:26It's just like the one I saw at the temple in Freyankham, except 1,200 years old.
38:31This ancient sandstone vessel once held a linga.
38:34Though the relic is missing, the Yoni is further evidence that this mountain was once the site of mystical ceremonies
38:41and could even have been the location where Jayavarman became a living god.
38:45I've seen more than enough to convince me that Jayavarman's ceremony actually took place,
38:52though his magic is still a mystery.
38:55We decide to push on, and ominously, the weather pushes back.
38:59Even I'm starting to get wrapped up in the legend of the god king.
39:04Locals think this whole mountain is basically haunted.
39:06They say that the spirit of Jayavarman is up here.
39:10And I have to say, with the rain and the thunder and the lightning, it is a very freaky place.
39:19Looks like old foot holes?
39:22Old steps.
39:23Old steps?
39:24Yeah.
39:24That was the craziest bolt of lightning I've ever seen.
39:39That was like some power of god.
39:41Finally, the lightning strikes and thunderclaps feel like they're right on top of us.
39:51We quickly head back to the bikes to end our investigation and escape the storm.
39:58Come on.
39:59Come on.
40:01Unfortunately, the rain has turned the trails to mud, and it is now dangerous going on the mountain.
40:06We make it down as far as the village, but with the rain coming down in sheets, we take shelter in Pick's jungle home.
40:14So we're about halfway down the mountain.
40:16Yeah.
40:16Now what?
40:18Beer time.
40:19Beer time, yeah.
40:23Okay, let's take a load off.
40:24I can reassess my life decisions up at this point.
40:27Though my drinking companions are mostly former Khmer Rouge soldiers and one crazy local guide,
40:33I am happy to have a roof over my head and a bit of light in an otherwise imposing jungle.
40:38Pick, is this light on a generator?
40:39Yeah.
40:39Is all the power on the generator?
40:41Yeah.
40:41What time does it go off?
40:42Uh, I miss it.
40:52By the light of a new day, I head down the mountain and back towards civilization.
40:57There's obviously more to be found here, but it will take years to fully excavate the city.
41:01I gotta get some coffee.
41:03History tells us that the quest for absolute power is a dangerous desire.
41:10For the god kings of the Khmer Empire, the power of the linga, or at least the perception of that power,
41:15allowed them to build artistic achievements without equal.
41:20For the Khmer Rouge, absolute power gave rise to the very darkest and most deadly aspects of human nature.
41:26In truth, this country has always been a puzzle to me, not because of the history, but because of the people who keep picking themselves up and dusting themselves off.
41:37They have adapted, they have endured, and they are, despite everything, filled with hope for the future.
41:45The story of Cambodia is still being written from both ends of the book.
41:50At this very moment, on a heavily landmined mountain, daring archaeologists are discovering the very first chapter.
41:57We now know that the story of Jayavarman is more than a myth.
42:03His city has been revealed by 21st century technology, and the jungle is giving up his long-held secrets.
42:09Having found a ceremonial Yanni, there may well be a linga here, too.
42:15But does it wield the fearsome power of the gods?
42:18As archaeologists continue to shift this ancient soil, new discoveries will be made,
42:24and the lost artifact of power could be next, waiting just beneath our feet.
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