Ta Prohm

Traditional musical band formed by the visually impaired. 

And so here we are, the last stop of our small circuit tour. Ta Prohm, a Unesco World Heritage site since 1992. An other-worldly temple like no other, where mother nature and ancient human infrastructure entwined. Being an amateur travel blogger, I haven't much to narrate except to quench your inner curiosity with stills of moments captured at the fast-deprecating site.

The east entrance. Strangler fig tree growing atop the building.

The grim appearance of one of the temple galleries.

Ta Prohm's entrances faced east. What greeted us were tall strangler fig and cotton silk trees emerging from the temple building itself. A jungle surrounded this place and could easily have manifested this sanctuary had it not been rediscovered in the mid 19th century. Conservation and restoration work were ongoing even from the outer gates, proving desperate attempts to wrestle the walls of Ta Prohm from mother's nature reclamation.

This long temple corridor resembled that of Angkor Wat.

Brother, have you seen my elephant ride?

Ta Prohm was built in 1186 AD by King Jayavarman VII. Originally known as Rajavihara (Monastery of the King), this Buddhist temple was dedicated to the king's mother, just as Preah Khan was dedicated to the king's father. Therefore much of Ta Prohm reminisce of other Bayon style temple, with the peculiarity of its natural inhabitants the strangler fig trees.

The eclectic structuring of the ceiling.

Karling found herself entangled by the tree roots.

I would say 40% of this place was in utter ruins. Piles of collapsed building blocks scattered on most part of the temple grounds. From the looks of it, gopuras were falling apart at an alarming speed, parallel to the terrifying growth of the inhabitant centuries-old plants. The fig trees' roots creep their way into the creases between rocks, parting the building as they grow deeper and expand wider. The gradual yet inevitable colonization increased as fig trees dropped more seeds in between tiny temple walls.

I am escaping the collapsing pile of rubber.

I am dashing through landmines and booby traps.

This was once a desolate temple ruins.

Ta Prohm was famous for being the film location of Tomb Raider. Not to be confused with Indiana Jones' Raider of the Lost Ark, this movie starred Angelina Jolie as the popular console and PC game character Lara Croft. In the movie, Lara traveled to a forsaken Khmer temple as part of her quest of raiding tomb treasures, though in real life Ta Prohm was indeed a Buddhist temple and monastery. On a different note, make your way to Pub Street to find a restaurant famous for being patronized by Angelina herself during the filming duration.

The jungle has reclaim this land with vengeance.

A former place for assembly?

The strangler fig attempting the limbo rock.

Suffering from similar fate as other Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm did not escape the evil clutches of looting and vandalism. First as a result of Hindu resurgence post Jayavarman VII era, then came civil war and Khmer rouge regime, Ta Prohm must have paled tremendously compared to its former glory. Remnants of lentil carvings and bas-reliefs had endured through many centuries, and were still sights to behold. Dancing Apsaras and worshipping Devatas on temple walls depicted a forsaken Angkorian civilization at the time of its peak.

This was how part of the conservation work appeared.

During happier times.

That is not my throne. My throne i wear with pride are my 2 kids.

It would take massive effort in restoration of Ta Prohm to its lesser-ruined state. Starting off with the neglected collapsed stone blocks piling up like construction wastage, I wasn't sure if authorities had intentions of sorting them out like jigsaw puzzle. Ta Prohm required major scale revamp which involve joint international effort and expertise to restore, conserve and prevent further deterioration of the temple ruins.   

Amazing how the roots do not need to stay underground. 

Ever thought of a better way to support the pillars of marriage?

Bas relief of a worship ritual.

The strangler figs' roots entwined so deep into creases of crumpling temple walls like cancer tumor parasiting into vital organs. Finding ways to detach the plant would most definitely destroy the temple's support as well. Should then nothing be done and leave nature to take its course until the burden of the trees cause the building to collapse? That was the dilemma not solved at time of writing. 

The tree knew how to leave the door opened.

Cambodia received massive influx of Korean tourists.

You didn't persevere in your effort.

I always feel embarrassed to ask someone to talk a picture for me. In the advent of selfie photos, you can't rely on yourself to capture a full body picture. With just the 2 of us traveling, we were at the mercy of strangers when it comes to taking quality shots. There will always be the concern of bumping into Westerners who despise 3rd world country Asians. I wish I could one day organize and bring my children and old folks on a family vacation overseas. It has to happen soon before arthritis or other debilitating ailments hit the both of my folks.

Pondering upon my future, I knew Nana and Peter were my only answer.

Remnants of the temple's art and craft.

 Walking through the passage of time.

I wish my old folks could see this place for themselves. It would be a shame if they couldn't even experience foreign culture near to home. Me and my brothers have unfairly burdened them all these years with rebellious teenage hormones, tuition fees, housing and car down payment, and most recently marital issues plus grand children's well-being. No matter, what better way to repay my parents than to bring them to experience the world? 

This spot was commemorated as the famous "Lara Croft spot".

Pulling out the tree means ripping off the building along with it.

 Thank God Lara Croft and her merry band of raiders didn't harm this beautiful temple.

Just look at the giant roots encroaching themselves on the temple roof. Its appearance portray a certain reality of life that once you allow something negative to set root into the heart and mind, it literally place you on a bleak one way ticket journey of no return. We all have battles against various addictions and the longer they remain is us, the harder to break loose from it. Having said that, love is a powerful weapon and has always been the light at the end of the tunnel for most victims of sins and addiction. Why am I harping on all these? Trust me living life in guilt is like dragging a death weight you ought to get rid of.   

The inhabitants of Ta Prohm.

It gradually came to a point where all temple looked the same.

 You can't see me but I can see you.

Seeking some adventure of my own, I found a way to climb up the roof of the temple and traverse across temple corridors. Karling who wasn't sport enough to climb stayed below to capture my daredevil ascend. Aerial view of rows of gopura tops with forest background made it worthwhile the stunt. Sadly the scattered piles of collapsed stone bricks left me a sense of regret and wish that more could be done to save Ta Prohm for future generations.

I will one day conquer my hardship and look back from afar.

Save enough mental pictures before you leave this world, for these are the only things you can bring with you.

Nana and Peter, do not be caught in a life of maze. Rather, focus on your goal.

Judging from the isolated conservation work encountered, the acutely under staff team maybe struggling to keep up with mother nature's sure and steady colonization henceforth destruction of Ta Prohm. My blog here hope to raise awareness for the importance of conservation work of ancient civilization remnants. May we all learn from histories of human shortcomings in order to path the way to a more secure and brighter future. 

Adventure time