Friday, January 04, 2008

Ta Prohm, Siem Reap

The next temple complex that I visited after Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia is Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm, the jungle wat is probably the most atmospheric temple in the entire Angkor temple complex. The trees growing out of the ruins are the distinctive feature of Ta Prohm.

The collapsing inner gopura (entrance) to Ta Prohm. I can't help but to look up at the collapsing gopura while entering the temple compound.

Mini stone carvings or bus reliefs with posture similar of holding the collapsing gopura? :P
The ruins...

The silk cotton tree invading the ruins of the Ta Prohm temple walls

Look at the root of the silk cotton tree. Mother nature is indeed amazing !!!

I'm speechless. The power of mother nature. time I see such a scene... Wow

The strangler fig tree invading the ruins

Bus-Reliefs on the temple wall

These tree roots reminds me of the chicken feet or phoenix claw, especially my beloved tungku kai keok.. Hahahhaha

Massive tree roots intertwine with stone pillars and carvings of the stunning Ta Prohm temple complex.

The photogenic and atmospheric combination of the trees and roots growing out of, and cracking the ruins of the temple complex made it a scenic place for photo shooting. *Smile*

This is indeed an eye opening experience and I love this UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. Seeing all these gigantic trees and roots engulfing and cracking the temple complex, I had fully experienced the power of mother nature at Ta Prohm. And yeah, those who had watched Tomb Raiders would have seen Ta Prohm as this is one of the shooting location for the movie ;)

34 comments:

moz monster said...

*Imagines Chev running around Ta Prohm like Lara Croft* .... hmmmmm ...

L B said...

I've watched Tomb Raider, but this still reminds me more of The Jungle Book... Am I in regression?

Chen said...

moz,
Piak u for your ocipala imagination. LOLOLOLOL
U should imagine me running around with a camera instead lah. Hahhahahahhaha

LB,
Walao.. u really loves Jungle Book, don't u?
So, u r Mowgli?
Who are Baloo and Bagheera then?
How about the wolves? :P

Kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk..

Mr. Goober said...

fooh, no wonder my mom always ask me to keep the house clean.

mistipurple said...

the magnificent branches also look like they're supporting the structures of the ruins. :)

mistipurple said...

wah.. come to think of it, at night walk walk sure quite erm.. :P

Chen said...

goober,
Funny lah u. U r indeed a hilarious peanut. LOL

Hopefully your house won't grow tree nor invaded by roots in the future. LOLOLOLOL

misti,
The branches and the roots have become good friends with the temple liao. Since they kam cheng together for so many years. LOL

Imaging if walking there alone at night time.
Wah... What an experience liao
can really See Ghost liao
LOL

Pink Cotton said...

WAHHHH

(pink) cotton tree so powerful wannn!!

fibrate said...

Amazing place, right? It's really a photographer's dream...every corner is picturesque scene to be shot. Tell me you also went to Beng Melea, the ultimate Indie adventure!

goldiamondrich said...

lol at pink cotton! don't play play with her wor!! :P

goldiamondrich said...

eek, that's misti!!! ahyaaa forgot to change.

Chen said...

pink cotton,
hahahhahha... pandai lah u, changing the name silk cotton to pink cotton. LOL

very "powderful" hoh the cotton?
Don't play-play :P
Kkkkkkk

fibrate,
Yeah, absolutely amazing and awesome :) Err... I didn't go to Beng Melea leh :(

goldiamondrich,
Hehehhe, this Misti has double or triple identities wan. Yeah loh, don't mess up with Pink Cotton cos she is very "powderful". LOLOLOL

Wyn said...

ahhhh...dat tree...hehe...got story of dat tree also..but i dun really remember the detail d..=P

i watch them from the astro documentary show...got some statue hidden behind the tree also de...jiejie got see it?

day-dreamer said...

Nice pictures from both posts!! Hehe.

rainbow angeles said...

kkkkk! i also thot of 'kai keok' when i saw that pic kkkkk :p sampat minds think alike haha!

Furkids in Hong Kong™ said...

Such a magnificent place. Tks so much for the tour.

Walking in the wilderness, away from the City, is something that I too find a most humbling, yet rewarding experience.

Doreen said...

Oh yes! Tom Raider it is! Ee? Where is the sexy Angelina Jolie? Hehehehe

stay-at-home mum said...

You have got some eraly amazing photos there! Makes me want to go and see them for myselves NOW!

Chen said...

wyn,
Hahaha, u really watch lotsa documentaries, which is good :)
Some statues hidden behind the tree? Nope, i didn't go and look behind the trees :)

day dreamer,
Thanks. Glad u like the pictures

angeles,
LOLOLOL, sampat minds think alike pulak, but i like this phrase. LOL
We all love kai kheok, don't we?
I wanna have tungku kai kheok noodle for breakfast in Jln Alor before i depart home that day but they don't have it at that time :(

Chen said...

furkids,
Glad u enjoyed yourself. Do pay this place a visit and u will definitely love it. Every corner is worth taking a picture. But too bad u can't bring the doggies along :(

doreen,
Yes, Tomb Raider. Hehehehe... The sexy Angelina Jolie is busy having her meal somewhere kua? kakakkakkaka

stay at home mum,
Thanks. Do pay this place a visit if some time in the future. But don't go during their rainy season, which if I didn't remember wrongly, was from August till October :)

eastcoastlife said...

Wah! Amazing photos and the trees are so awesome! I wanna go! I wanna go!

Anonymous said...

I see a lot of sun also la..how ar? very hot there?....itu malam ada bukak mia ka?..heheheh..

Chen said...

ECL,
Hehehe, made Siem Reap your next travel destination. Mari mari :)

Eve,
Although it is sunny, but the weather is not as hot as in Malaysia. I didn't sweat much there in comparison with our country ;)

Sunny day is good for photo shooting. The picture outcome is fabulous with such a weather :)

Err.. I won't want to visit that place at night time leh. So dark woh.. :P

kyh said...

really powderful mother nature! the claws really kiasilang hor...

nyonyapenang said...

Man-made or can I say 'handmade'( as in without using modern machinery) buildings and Mother Nature...ah...such spectacular sights. Truly overwhelming.

Chen said...

kyh,
Luckily those claws won't grip nor attack such as in those alien shows, else we have to run for lives. LOL

nyonya,
Yeah, everything was "hand built" as the temple was built in the 12th century. It was awesome to see such magnificent architecture build in the early days and now mother nature wants to play a role :)

Jun said...

wah.. like watching tomb raider liddat! did u know that during our quarantine time in our OSCE (cos we were divided into groups with diff starting and ending times, some groups had to be quarantined), we were actually shown the movie tomb raider 2?

not that it was nice or anything, but seeing the luscious angelina jolie did help ease the anxiety a bit *LOL*

_butt said...

woowwww... I'm speechless as well. Such a strong tree! Like the hulk! though it's not green :D

Anonymous said...

Wow, look a these trees' roots, they look like some kind of huge claw!

Winn said...

wah......nice . i shld go see it while it's still there.

one day pass is USD20 so it's almost or maybe slighly more exp than kuching cultural village.....

Chen said...

jun,
That's nice, being showed Tomb Raider 2 while being quarantined. I was "quarantined" in the past too during my medical school days ~ the final professional exam but the only "free show" available is the stressful and anxious look on each and everyone of us. LOL

butt,
Mother nature is indeed amazing. Will u visit Angkor Wat sometime later on in the future? ;)

zhu,
Luckily those "huge claw-like thingy" won't attack the tourists. LOL. Consequences of watching too much alien movies? ;)

winn,
Most people will get the 3-day-pass, which is US 40, so that they can explore all the temple complexes in greater details :) Everything was sold in US over there, including food and drinks.

_butt said...

on my to-travel list! ;)

Anonymous said...

silk cotton tree? i thought those are a kind of strangling fig tree hmmm ... nevertheless, its really a magical place to be in.

Chen said...

butt,
That's great. My next post will be up soon. The Bayon and Angkor Thom temple with lotsa gigantic smiling face. I'm sure u will love it :)

slurp,
Yeah, two species of tree predominates in Ta Prohm, the silk cotton trees and strangler figs trees over there. The silk cotton trees have larger roots :)