The Slatest

Cambodians Nonplussed as People Keep Taking Nude Photos at Angkor Temples for Some Reason

None of these visitors to the Ta Phrom temple is naked … yet.

Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty

People keep taking nude photos at the Angkor temple complex in Cambodia and authorities are all like, “Come on, guys.”

From the Phnom Penh Post:

In less than a month, the Kingdom has kicked out seven foreigners for public nudity, including two American sisters and three French tourists who, in separate cases, disrobed at different ancient temples in the Siem Reap complex and posed for pictures.

Further, the Apsara Authority, which manages the archaeological site and has vowed to boost security in response, is investigating two more sets of naked pictures taken amid the ruins, including one captioned “hakuna matata” that features a naked couple wearing animal masks.

In addition to the tourists who were caught and the “hakuna matata” set, there’s also this group of images by artsy-naked-person specialist Wanimal.

CNN explains why what might seem like a lark to tourists is actually pretty rude:

“It’s an offense to the culture of others, regardless of religion,” Kerya Chau Sun, APSARA (Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap) National Authority spokesperson, told CNN.

“As a Cambodian, it’s hurtful to my belief, and especially to the poor Cambodians saving up money to be able to come across the country to pray at Angkor.”

This same kind of thing apparently happened at Machu Picchu recently.

When I was younger, a friend of mine—let’s call him Matt—tried to get a picture of himself pretending to breast-feed a stuffed animal on a roller coaster in Ohio when we passed the camera on the side of the track that takes souvenir photos. But the people who worked at the photo stand wouldn’t let him buy the image. Matt is now an attorney who specializes in defending DUI cases.

Stop taking pictures of your butts at world historic sites, everyone.