Timeless battle ... the ruins of the ancient Ta Prohm jungle temple. Picture: Trevor SeymourBy Trevor Seymour April 9, 2006
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THE American tourist next to me starts shaking badly when she spots the cobra moving across the gravel path leading to the Jungle Temple in Cambodia.
It doesn't matter that the snake is little more than a worm on steroids: the lady in question has a genuine fear, and it takes a lot of convincing to get her to continue the walk.
Fortunately, the coaxing is worth it, as the Jungle Temple (its correct name is Ta Prohm) gives the traveller a true sense of what things must have looked like when archaeologists first pushed back the trees and vines on some of these great wonders more than a century ago.
Giant fig and silk cotton trees have forced their way up through the intricate stone work and, where they could not break through, the roots simply grew around the buildings.
In places, stones have been forced apart over centuries, elsewhere the stonework created 800 years ago has refused to yield, with the roots covering whole sections in a fabulously intricate cobweb.
Little wonder producers of the first Tomb Raider movie chose Ta Prohm as a backdrop for Angelina Jolie to strut her stuff. No amount of computer wizardry could quite capture what mother nature has achieved here.
Ta Prohm was built in the 12th century and abandoned about 200 years later. It is nearly unique among the dozens of ruins in the Siem Reap area in that the jungle has not been cleared and the ruins partially restored.
How long it will remain like this is yet to be determined, as local guides say the Cambodian authorities are concerned the trees are causing too much damage to the complex and are considering removing them.
The Ta Prohm group of temples is about an hour from the tourist hub of Siem Reap – just far enough to ensure it does not bear the full brunt of the huge tourism market that has grown up in the region in the past decade.
The famous Angkor Wat complex is what draws the crowds and, as the largest religious monument in the world, it justifiably ranks with the pyramids as one of the true wonders of ancient construction.
Only the sheer size of the temple – about 81ha – saves the visitor from feeling you are running the tourist gauntlet at the Colosseum in Rome or the Acropolis in Athens at the height of summer.
Still, at the much-hyped dawn visit to watch the sun rise over the temple you will find yourself in a crowd numbering in the hundreds or even thousands, especially in the peak season between October and April.
The complex itself is simply remarkable in its sheer scale and ambition.
Largely constructed between 1131AD and 1150AD, the temple was dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu by King Suryavarman II and has some of the most beautiful examples of Khmer and Hindu art.
Stone carvings cover a great many of the surfaces, although in many places the work has been destroyed or stolen.
In a country struggling to rebuild after the evils of the Khmer Rouge and the civil war, preserving ancient treasures was not high on the agenda. At several entrances to Angkor Wat, you can see AK-47 bullet holes in the stonework from the fighting.
Although Angkor Wat is the most famous and popular temple complex, there are dozens of others scattered across the plains surrounding Siem Reap.
The nearby Bayon complex built by Jayavarman VII between 1181 and 1220 features an amazingly detailed bas-relief carving that stretches for about a kilometre around the temple base.
The Bayon is also famous for the large and well-preserved Buddha faces carved on the towers of the third level.
In little over a decade, Siem Reap has grown to become a tourist centre for the region, with dozens of hotels catering for every budget.
At the top end of the market is the Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor. Voted one of the World's Best Places to Stay on Conde Nast Traveler Gold List, its old-world charm and elegance justifies the hefty price tag, with rooms starting north of $300 a night.
But the intense competition for the tourist dollar means good quality budget accommodation can be found for as little as $20 a night or less.
Many visitors now fly directly into Siem Reap, bypassing the capital Phnom Penh, and often don't venture far beyond the temples. This can be a mistake, as rural Cambodia is truly beautiful.
One of the most fascinating boat rides in south-east Asia leaves from just out of town on the edge of the enormous Tonle Sap lake.
Daily ferries run both ways between Siem Reap and the wonderfully named provincial city of Battambang.
The trip takes about four hours in the wet season, and it can be much longer if water levels are down.
After crossing the lake, the ferry winds its way through a vast flooded plain stopping at numerous floating villages to drop off passengers and freight.
This is no hi-tech boat – rather a cobbled-together craft measuring about 30m. The best place to ride is on the roof, where you can marvel at the tiny communities whose inhabitants spend almost their entire lives afloat.
Battambang (the name means "disappearing stick") is well off the tourist path, but has some of the best-preserved examples of French colonial architecture in Cambodia.
From here, day trips can be made to even more ruined temples, although the rural splendour and traditional way of life of the many farming villages are just as enchanting.
The writer travelled courtesy of World Expeditions.
It doesn't matter that the snake is little more than a worm on steroids: the lady in question has a genuine fear, and it takes a lot of convincing to get her to continue the walk.
Fortunately, the coaxing is worth it, as the Jungle Temple (its correct name is Ta Prohm) gives the traveller a true sense of what things must have looked like when archaeologists first pushed back the trees and vines on some of these great wonders more than a century ago.
Giant fig and silk cotton trees have forced their way up through the intricate stone work and, where they could not break through, the roots simply grew around the buildings.
In places, stones have been forced apart over centuries, elsewhere the stonework created 800 years ago has refused to yield, with the roots covering whole sections in a fabulously intricate cobweb.
Little wonder producers of the first Tomb Raider movie chose Ta Prohm as a backdrop for Angelina Jolie to strut her stuff. No amount of computer wizardry could quite capture what mother nature has achieved here.
Ta Prohm was built in the 12th century and abandoned about 200 years later. It is nearly unique among the dozens of ruins in the Siem Reap area in that the jungle has not been cleared and the ruins partially restored.
How long it will remain like this is yet to be determined, as local guides say the Cambodian authorities are concerned the trees are causing too much damage to the complex and are considering removing them.
The Ta Prohm group of temples is about an hour from the tourist hub of Siem Reap – just far enough to ensure it does not bear the full brunt of the huge tourism market that has grown up in the region in the past decade.
The famous Angkor Wat complex is what draws the crowds and, as the largest religious monument in the world, it justifiably ranks with the pyramids as one of the true wonders of ancient construction.
Only the sheer size of the temple – about 81ha – saves the visitor from feeling you are running the tourist gauntlet at the Colosseum in Rome or the Acropolis in Athens at the height of summer.
Still, at the much-hyped dawn visit to watch the sun rise over the temple you will find yourself in a crowd numbering in the hundreds or even thousands, especially in the peak season between October and April.
The complex itself is simply remarkable in its sheer scale and ambition.
Largely constructed between 1131AD and 1150AD, the temple was dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu by King Suryavarman II and has some of the most beautiful examples of Khmer and Hindu art.
Stone carvings cover a great many of the surfaces, although in many places the work has been destroyed or stolen.
In a country struggling to rebuild after the evils of the Khmer Rouge and the civil war, preserving ancient treasures was not high on the agenda. At several entrances to Angkor Wat, you can see AK-47 bullet holes in the stonework from the fighting.
Although Angkor Wat is the most famous and popular temple complex, there are dozens of others scattered across the plains surrounding Siem Reap.
The nearby Bayon complex built by Jayavarman VII between 1181 and 1220 features an amazingly detailed bas-relief carving that stretches for about a kilometre around the temple base.
The Bayon is also famous for the large and well-preserved Buddha faces carved on the towers of the third level.
In little over a decade, Siem Reap has grown to become a tourist centre for the region, with dozens of hotels catering for every budget.
At the top end of the market is the Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor. Voted one of the World's Best Places to Stay on Conde Nast Traveler Gold List, its old-world charm and elegance justifies the hefty price tag, with rooms starting north of $300 a night.
But the intense competition for the tourist dollar means good quality budget accommodation can be found for as little as $20 a night or less.
Many visitors now fly directly into Siem Reap, bypassing the capital Phnom Penh, and often don't venture far beyond the temples. This can be a mistake, as rural Cambodia is truly beautiful.
One of the most fascinating boat rides in south-east Asia leaves from just out of town on the edge of the enormous Tonle Sap lake.
Daily ferries run both ways between Siem Reap and the wonderfully named provincial city of Battambang.
The trip takes about four hours in the wet season, and it can be much longer if water levels are down.
After crossing the lake, the ferry winds its way through a vast flooded plain stopping at numerous floating villages to drop off passengers and freight.
This is no hi-tech boat – rather a cobbled-together craft measuring about 30m. The best place to ride is on the roof, where you can marvel at the tiny communities whose inhabitants spend almost their entire lives afloat.
Battambang (the name means "disappearing stick") is well off the tourist path, but has some of the best-preserved examples of French colonial architecture in Cambodia.
From here, day trips can be made to even more ruined temples, although the rural splendour and traditional way of life of the many farming villages are just as enchanting.
The writer travelled courtesy of World Expeditions.
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