travel

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Tomb raider - Ta Prohm temple .. where the roots take over

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Previous post in this series is here..

The sun was still coming out and we had already finished the Bayon temple. We drove past the elephant terrace where the elephant stables were and on to Ta Prohm temple.. aka Tomb Raider temple. The giant roots that take over the ruins of this temple are famous. We used to play a game in the early days of iPhone games where we had to run through the ruins of this temple and collect gold coins. It was called Temple Run.. while the adults used to huff and puff and struggle to get 1000 points, the little one who was probably 3 or 4 at that time would casually grab the phone and hit 100000 points and show it and go “what is the big deal?” We would all stare at it in disbelief.. We were thinking of our not so little one when visiting this temple.

The roots and ruins make an amazing backdrop. We also stopped by the victory gate if I remember it right and took pictures (including Yoga pics). Our driver was okay with me doing yoga poses as long as there was no risk. He also practiced some new techniques we had discussed.. I hope my suggested additions to his tool kit come in handy for future tourists.. The picture below was his idea..

Then he showed me a new trick.. made us walk through the temple and he took a pano shot.. froze in the middle and asked us to walk out and pose again on the other side.. now I have something added to my photo tool kit!

The photo galleries below. Yet again, these photos and videos do not capture the way nature has taken over mans creation when abandoned even for a few hundred years.. we as humans are insignificant.

Portraits gallery. Our driver was right.. This was magnificent and breathtaking like the Bayon temple and at places more interesting..

A video highlight reel..

After we finished this temple, we had one more temple to visit before hitting Angkor Wat. Given our speed, Saruk suggested we go see a bun tea kadai.. so I was thinking we were going to a shop to have some bun and tea and then go see a temple. I was in for a surprise.. that in the next post..

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The magnificent Bayon temple at sunrise

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When Brahma or Buddha or Shiva or Vishnu closes one door, he opens another..

The previous post in this series is here..

Our driver was good. He took us super fast to the south gate at Angkor Thom complex to see the sunrise above the forest and hit the statutes at the gate. It was an amazing experience. Got a lot of good pictures and got a timelapse of the sun coming up above the forest!

Then there was the short drive to Bayon temple. Every tower had faces of buddha on all four sides and there were 50+ towers. What a temple. What magnificence. There were buddhist monks still praying early in the morning.

Happy with the pictures but you have to be there to see it in all its grandeur. There is also a set of pictures of San that made my day while editing.. it reminded me of the little one from an earlier time..

The photo gallery in portrait format..

landscape gallery

A video highlights reel of this part of the trip..

Thoroughly enjoyed the sunrise over the forest and the light show in Bayon temple.. It was still early morning and our driver said it was time to go visit one more major temple in the area before the crowds moved in, and then we could go to Angkor Wat temple for the tour.

He said it would be “better” and that piqued our interest.. Better than this?! That in the next post.. There are 500+ photos from that stop.. will work on them tomorrow.

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Sunrise at Angkor Wat - a meh experience

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The previous post in this trip series is here..

The previous night we had crashed early but not before telling our hotel to pack us breakfast (it was included). They know folks go for sunrise and pack you a breakfast! We left the hotel shortly before 4:30 and drove to the temple complex. It was pitch dark in the area. There were still the ticket checkers working diligently with flashlights. The tickets have our photographs in them. We walked to a nice spot where a few hundred others were waiting.

Our driver warned us already that March 21 and Sept 21 are best times for sunrise viewing. In late November the sun goes to the side and is rising from the forest behind the fog. You see the light but not the sun for some time.

I had setup the iphone for a timelapse.. or so I thought. it was between my shoes on the steps.. must have had butterfingers and I turned it on and off right away! Realized it only after the sun came out and there was a photo instead of a timelapse video! It was a big missed opportunity. Next time, going to get a gorilla tripod so this doesn’t repeat. Did get some shots over the one hour we waited there. Once it became light, we took some shots of me doing yoga in front of Angkor Wat.

Our driver said at this point the entire crowd was going to visit the temple. We should go to Bayon temple instead and get great photos where there is no crowd and then come back to this temple. Given this one has shade and Bayon has none, he said that is a better plan.

We trusted Sarak given our entire previous day with him. Off we went..

A very short video reel..

Next time if at all we visit this place, should go in September. It will still be hit or miss because it rains during that time! One has to be lucky to get sunrise at this place.. There is always photoshop…

Copyright © 2012, Sundar Narayanan. All rights reserved.