After Angkor Wat, Bayon and Ta Keo temples, we were now at our fourth stop on our trike tour around the Angkor archeological park.
Seeing such tall trees as you walk toward Ta Prohm should give you a hint to the role trees play here
After seeing so many of the temples being renovated with the financial support of Germany, Japan, China and France, finally I came across one that is being funded by India (since 2010)!
We entered Ta Prohm through here
Cambodians make use of these heritage ruins as backdrops for wedding photoshoots
Ta Prohm is yet another temple made on the orders of one of the Jayavarman kings but what really sets it apart from the other structures…
… is seeing these gigantic tree roots that have grown over the stones over the decades
Ta Prohm (or “Old Brahma”) was initially called Rajavihara. Whatever it was called then or now, Ta Prohm is more famous for being the temple in Angkor archeological park which has many trees whose roots have extended themselves around and through the gaps of the structures.
After Angkor Wat and Bayon, we were headed to the third stop on our tour around the Angkor archeological park.
We were getting around in a tricycle taxi that we hired for $15
Along the way we would stop to take photos
As mentioned in previous posts, in between the major temples and structures of the Angkor park are other ruins
This is Ta Keo temple
Ta Keo is one of the tallest monuments of the Angkor empire. Built to resemble a mountain, it was commissioned by Jayavarman V in early 11th century but the work was never finished. No one really knows why construction stopped.
We began our day with a visit to Cambodia’s national monument, Angkor Wat. After spending around two hours there, our motor tricycle (“tuk tuk”) driver took us to the next stop on our tour of Angkor Archeological Park.
This was a bridge en route
More headless statues here, some stolen or lost
Now, many of these heads are getting replaced
If you haven’t noticed it, these faces are a prominent feature of Bayon. This is just one of the gates surrounding Bayon temple.
That’s Bayon
Our driver dropped us off outside the temple. We had a quick lunch, sitting under an eatery’s umbrella, as it had started to rain.
