The Lost Splendors of Angkor – Ta Phrom
I was getting impatient. We had been riding the tuk-tuk for the last ten minutes across the jungle with the temple nowhere in sight. Finally we arrive at the entrance of perhaps one of the most mysterious of the Angkor temples. A smiling face greets me as I enter its gates.
A dense forest stares at me as I step inside the temple complex. The travellers whom I had met at a pub the previous night had filled my head with strange stories of the mysteries which this temple holds.
I break into a brisk stride and after walking for 5 minutes I’m greeted with silence and the temple nowhere in sight. That’s the thing about these temples, they are just too grand in size and in splendour. I walk a bit ahead and a structure made of stone breaks into view with the same effect as a magician doing an appearance trick.
I take in a breath of the dense tropical air and stare at the remnant of a glorious civilization.
Ta Phrom.
Where do I begin I think as I scan the map. A glance puts the area of the temple complex to about 1 square km. I then chuck the traveller’s guide and start walking amongst the ruins.
The first thing you notice is how the temple have become less of a man made structure and more of the forest. Trees have taken their root amongst the temples and have slowly displaced the stones which hold the structure in place.
Merged as a symphony between manmade architecture and nature.
Looking at the exposed roots of grand silk cotton trees and strangler fig branches sprouting from the gaps between the neatly cut stones gives one a surreal feeling. A feeling of being a part of a grand tragedy, a mistake of sadness and beauty.
This is what 300 years of neglect does to a temple build deep in the Cambodian jungle.
As I walk across the decrepit hallways and the crumbling stones I feel a sense of calm. Silence of the forest and the beautiful ruins engulf me. Even though Ta Phrom is extensively ruined, it still has a lot to explore in terms of courtyards, towers and narrow corridors and hidden passages which are made impassible owing to a jumble of crumbled stones.
I constantly felt as if I’m a part of a giant living breathing ancient being. Moss has engulfed all the exposed stones, hiding the splendor which the ancient structure had earlier been. At its height this ancient wonder housed more than 12000 people including priests, government officials and dancers. Great trees tower above the ruins, their leaves filtering the sunlight, providing welcome shade and casting a greenish light over the otherworldly site.
I walk upto a security and strike a conversation. After speaking for five minutes he suddenly asks me with a twinkle in his eye if I’d be interested in a exclusive out of bounds tour of the temple. I said “hell yea!”. He then proceeds to take me to few really surreal parts of the temple and I was forever grateful for making the decision of talking to him.
Most people who visit Ta Phrom do not know that a few scenes from the famous Tomb Raider movie were shot there. Visiting that scene felt like was a part of a grand adventure!
The other spots which completely blew me away were the smiling Buddha idol where a peepul tree had engulfed the entire idol except for the face which looked at me smilingly, humouring at my awe.
Perhaps the most famous of the temples mysteries is an unexplained glyph which looks shockingly like a stegosaurus. Thinking about what might have been prompted the sculptors from this amazing civilization, to carve such a impressive impression of a creature which looks like a dinosaur can only be guessed and adds to the mystery of the place.
A strange sense of eeriness envelopes me as I think about what I had seen as experienced as I make my way back out of the temple.
A feeling of having left a part of you back at this extraordinary place.
The Lost Splendors of Angkor is a series covering the grandest temples from the Angkor ruins during my visit to Siem Riep. You can find my writing on Bayon — here
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Love,
Kushaal
