So we got to visit Ta Prohm today, a bit further out in the jungle from Angkor Wat. This place, and pretty much the whole area got a major boost after the 2001 movie Tomb Raider.
We got here bright and early at 07:15, so thats 15 minutes before it actually opens. When the guards finaly let us in we where like 6 people in total, it do add a lot to the experience to explore these sites ‘alone’ – and not together with the whole of South Korea (more on that later)
The restoration of this site is a cooperation between India and Cambodia, and I think that whats done – is done nicely. There are pictures of before/after, and where they have added new plaster or cement it is clearly visible, as to aknowledge that “yeah – we did this”.
A lot of Tomb Raider was shot in this exact location, for those who remember it – it is the scene where Lara walks around the ruins, and these kids keep popping in and out of the shadows, she roams around and dissapears into a hole in the grouns after picking a jasmine flower. Quite a cool scene, and even cooler since it is on location and not in a studio.
The story of the filming itself is quite interesting, and well worth the read before visiting. The crew spent a long time in Siem Reap and you can still get Angelinas favourite drink at some of the bars in Pub Street. (Its contruie, lemon/line juice and sofa, if I remember correctley – called ‘Tomb Raider’). They used lots and lots of the locals for extras and general help, and it had a major impact on the town and surrounding area – bringing in intress of the old sites and the general flow of money that follows tourists.
For me, I would say that this is probably the coolest site to go visit in the Angkor area. Of course, you dont opt out of Angkor Wat – it is also amazing. But to get to Ta Prohm early, without all the tourist crowds, is absolutley amazing. You can roam around quite freely, only a few places are ‘no go’, but it feels much more free. Absolutley amazing place, you can walk around here for hours – and we did!
Bring some water, lots of water. You will have to exit the site if you want to buy some more. And put on some bug repellant stuff – not to bad, but there are a few more mosquitos here than Angkor Wat. It opens at 07:30 (SHARP!) and is of course covered by the general ticket.
If you are planning to go here any other time than 07:30 – I would just forget about it. After 1 hour it was crowded.
Now – after this site, a natrual next stop is Bayon area/temple. This is also a part of Tomb Raider, if you remember the scene where all the locals where tearing down the temple wall, while the villain archeologist is lounging on a red velvet sofa – sipping tea. Also, when Lara lands her Jepp in the jungle, and the looking around using her binoculars (yeah – I can’t have spelled that correctly??), here you will see these smiling buddha faces. These smiling buddhas are from the Bayon.
The site consist of a total of 120 budha faces, all said to be differetn. Quite a special view.
And here we also met South Korea, pretty much all of them. I have never seen that many selfie sticks in one place ever. They had to have come in on a buchload of busses – and they completley overrun the place. Now we did a selfie or two ourselfs there, but not nearly to the same extent as Sout Korea. They even had brought along their own photographer, and he made everybode form a line – and then had them pose in the same way over and over and over again.
Strangley enough, I did not get an actual photo of em 🙂 , we just sped up and got ahead of them.
When you take a step back. and start to identify the different huge faces in the towers – it is an amazing view.
You can move around quire freely here to, but its a bit more thingt spaces, steep stairs, small open areas. So when the crowds get there, you will walk a bit in que. A nice thing to do is walk around the outer walls, splendid views and lots of nice photo opps.
So, all in all, there are a few places we did not visit. But I cant understand anything cooler that these two sites. And yeah, Angkor Wat to, you have to see them all. But to have it split up in 2-3 days is probably wise, since you will be able to get there early and also get out before the heat kills you. And another thing, if you do them all back to back – I dont think you would actually appreciate it as much. It would probably be a bit ‘here we go again’ feel. Sonset aside three days, thats my suggestion anyways.
And also, be sure to have a hotel with a pool for when you get back 🙂
