Its appearance in Angelina’s Jolie’s version of “Tomb Raider put Ta Prohm on the “must see” lists of every tourist that visits Angkor. And, unlike other Cambodian temples in that film, the 12th century temple and university is faithfully rendered, merged with the jungle, but not yet completely part of it.
In fact, while the Archaeological Survey of India has spent more than 17 years restoring Ta Prohm, its experts intentionally left it looking as it was when it was found, a photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings.
Despite Ta Prohm’s immense popularity, we were nearly the only ones there that day for the same reason there aren’t many photos: Minutes after we arrived the skies opened up in torrential and persistent rain that flooded the temple and, in fact, led to me slipping and falling squarely on my back.
