I know, I know . . . I have done a lot of posts about temples at Angkor Wat lately but they were so cool! It is hard not to go overboard. This is the last entry about ancient ruins for awhile, I promise. This last temple, Ta Prohm, was absolutely my favorite. I liked it because it has been left the way it was found in that nature is slowly taking over. The other temples have been cleared of trees and jungle and are under preservation and restoration, but Ta Prohm has been left to fight the jungle alone. Everywhere you look there are trees growing in and around the temple. It looks like it should be a scene in Indiana Jones and in fact it was used in the movies Tomb Raider and Two Brothers.
Ta Prohm is one of the most visited temples because the combination of nature and man's handiwork creates a lot of photogenic opportunities and inspires a lot of writing. In many places, the trees look like they are strangling the stones.
Exploring Ta Prohm was really fun as it was not only crumbling ruins but crazy formations of roots and trunks meshed in. Many of the areas were roped off as they were not safe to walk in or under anymore. Being in this temple was a pretty dramatic and picturesque reminder of the cycle of man and nature.
Post a Comment