Cambodia Travel Notes - Part 5 (Scenic Photos: Ta Prohm)

Ta Prohm is a vast monastery site.  Unlike the other sites, Ta Prohm had not been cleared of the intrusion of nature.  "Shrouded in jungle, the temple of Ta Prohm is ethereal in aspect and conjures up a romantic aura.  Trunks of trees twist among stone pillars.  Fig, banyan and kapok trees spread their gigantic roots over, under and in between the stones, probing walls and terraces apart, as their branches and leaves intertwine to form a roof above the structures.  Everywhere around you, you see Nature it its dual role of destroyer and consoler, strangling on the one hand and healing of the other; no sooner splitting the carved stones asunder than she dresses their wounds with cool, velvety mosses, and finds them with her most tender tendrils; a conflict of moods so contradictory and feminine ..."

To communicate the idea of Ta Prohm, the tour guides inevitably say -- Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.  The following is the portal at which Angeline Jolie stood briefly before entering.  After that, the tour guides say, "it was a studio set for the movie."