Seeing most photos of Preah Vihear with the clear blue skies, I can't help but wonder if my January 2023 experience visiting this great site might have felt different if the weather had been milder. Arriving at the top of the mountain after a long morning drive from Siem Reap, the fog and light drizzle gave me Machu Picchu vibes, especially as I approached the fifth gopura, the lowest one on the slope (you'll see the five in reverse order as you ascend). This fifth gopura was the least impressive and most ruined; the enchanting atmosphere, especially with the wide road sloping up into the heavens and the opposing stairs down into the fog of Thailand, was what made its appearance so exciting. Following the path up, each gopura revealed itself out of the fog slowly as I drew closer to them. Each one was more impressive than the last, and exploring them with the fog really made it feel like a lost wonder. However, the rain only got stronger, and I was eventually forced to use my raincoat to explore the rest. Sadly, with the fog, there was absolutely no view of the surrounding landscape and especially over the cliff of the Dangrek Mountains towards the Cambodian plains; the greatest thing to see at the viewpoint was the macaques playing in the puddles. So, while helping to instill the mystical vibe, I do feel like the fog and rain also detracted from savoring the beautiful setting of the site. Overall, I found the site to be worth the long journey, but I also think it's not very artistically unique in the world of Khmer ruins; it is significant mostly for its setting and the resulting layout, but not as significant as structures/sites like Sambor Prei Kuk, Banteay Srei, and Angkor Wat. The closest features to compare to would probably be those of Banteay Srei, as these two sites are renowned as the greatest Khmer sites in the intricacy of their carvings and overall have similar architecture as well, but Banteay Srei, while not having the expansiveness and the unique layout of Preah Vihear (owing to its dramatic setting), it is actually the older site by at least a century, and I found the artistry there to be more refined, yet it does not constitute its own separate site. That being said, it's also a great excuse to visit the far north of Cambodia, where the landscape feels so much fresher and wilder than the lowlands to the south. And it's truly a temple of legend up there because they even have the province and its capital named after it.