One of my first stops in Cambodia is going to be a small corner of Angkor Wat, the ruins of Ta Phrom. Though this complex lacks the dramatic 30-foot-high faces and temple buildings we’re most familiar with in photographs of Angkor Wat, it has something that the rest of Angkor lacks: a relatively natural setting.
While the majority of the temples were being excavated and restored during the early twentieth century, it was decided that Ta Phron should remain as undisturbed as possible as a “concession to the general taste for the picturesque.” Work was done to stabilize the ruins, and paths were cleared for easier access, but for the most part these ruins appear as they were when first re-discovered.
I’ll visit the entire Angkor Wat site, of course, and as many other sites as I can manage, but I’m most excited about the photographic possibilities of crumbling walls and the winding roots of silk-cotton trees in Ta Phrom.
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