The Root Of The Problem


Accompanied by the sounds of tropical birds, I trekked from the crumbling outer gate through the jungle to the main gate of Ta Prohm temple, part of a cluster of temples, including Angkor Wat, near Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Now famous thanks to the Laura Croft, Tomb Raider movies, Ta Phrom has a distinguishing feature, huge tree routs draped over the walls like serpentine aliens, and growing out of the stone roofs. Some of the trees are 500 years old.

At the main gate, I had no idea how much more there was to see behind it. Halls, doors, windows, all in big blocks of stone. More blocks piled randomly around the grounds. The cyprus-like trees everywhere.

With all the roots and the big blocks of stone everywhere, easy to miss intereting details. For example, one tile on a wall clearly showed an engraving of a stegasaurus, the dinosaur with the big spinal plates along it's back. One can only wonder.

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