Commonly called as the “Tomb Raider Temple” since 2001, Ta Prohm had enthralled tourists from all corners of the world to visit its venturesome trail! If you happened to watch the movie, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, you would definitely want to experience the thrill and excitement of pursuing quests in daredevil places as the Egyptian tombs and the like. It’s like having a childhood dream come true, being one of the actors of Jumanji or Indiana Jones. Well, that’s for my case, if you might have the need to know. Hehe….
Located just a few meters away from Bayon Temple inside Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm offers an exceptional sight from all the other temples in Angkor Wat complex. As you may notice, giant trees are rooted right on top of the temple’s rigid structure. Though the ruins are seem to be hidden by the trees, narrative artwork of Mahayana Buddhist ancestry still overrules the place.
In contrast to the Angkor Wat which is a mountain temple, Ta Prohm is a flat temple having the following parts: towers, gopuras, libraries, hall of dancers, house of fire, and satellite temple. (Wikipedia) It is smaller than the Angkor, of course and the Bayon as well. However, it is not easy to navigate the place ‘coz of the much rubble.
With that, restorations are on-going so there are a handful of restricted areas. Once marked “restricted”, don’t dare to enter at all for you might hurt yourself from falling debris or stepping pits. It’s nice to imagine falling into traps before getting the treasure just like in the aforementioned movies but it’s not nice experiencing that in reality. So giving respect to the place is highly appreciated. After all, it was once a sacred sanctuary.
Though I was not in a Lara Croft outfit in this perilous adventure, I conquered Ta Prohm without tripping over a foot. I was very careful not to fall to my knees as I am always accustomed to since childhood. Gah, me and my flat-feet problem! Anyway, I just imagined that I was a Greek goddess in a somewhat Greek ruin. Hehe….
Luckily, our guide brought us to the most famous trees in this temple jungle. He gave stories for each tree which I haven’t caught up taking mental notes of ‘coz I was dazed on how fast we hopped from tree to tree. So I didn’t mind to stress myself and just posed for each monumental tree in planet earth’s history. Thanks to Mr. Te for the photos!
There are still more stories to come in these very long overdue Cambodia series so make it a habit to log on to The Other Side of Mae! #tosomtravels
Related Posts:
Bayon: The Temple of Many Faces
The South Gate of Angkor Thom
Angkor Wat: City of Temples
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