Post from Michelle:
Ta Prohm is a favorite temple of Angkor Wat tourists and the second I walk through its gates I understand why. It is one of the Angkor temples left to the mercy of the jungle. Huge trees grow out of crumbling walls, roots and vegetation entwine with rocks, and green moss carpets carvings. The temple is a giant maze of fallen boulders, inviting archways, and passageways leading to small rooms and dead ends.Tim and I split up to explore alone. Ta Prohm is a place that invites solitude. Walking through the ruins I get a taste of what the early French explorers found when they first encountered the Angkor temples. It's only nine in the morning but I am already dripping in sweat. The jungle air is hot, moist, and still. Even though thousands have visited this temple, the magic and mystery of the ruins make my heart beat faster, and I feel as if I am the first to explore it. Around each corner lies new discoveries - intricate carvings, toppled sculptures, rich textures, clawing tree roots, and dancing shadows along courtyard walls.
I enter a small room. Its roof is now a pile of rocks at my feet. Down a dark connecting passageway I see a young Cambodian man watching me. With so many doors and corridors inviting me through them I am not sure where to go next. The man beckons me towards him and in broken English tells me there is a beautiful carving nearby. Before I can answer he disappears around the corner. I hesitate to follow. There is no one else around and to follow this stranger might invite trouble. But the magic of the place has made me more adventurous and I follow.As I approach him I realize he is more a young teenager than a man. His clothes are ragged and dirty and one of his arms is lame, hanging loose at his side like a thin, brown twig. He grins at me and points to a small nook.
A shaft of light falls through a hole in the roof and perfectly spotlights a beautiful carvings of a Khmer dancer. She stares at me with a seductive and playful smile. In the sunlight the rock glows, as if golden. I snap a photo and my new-found guide continues on. Each of his steps is firm and sure while mine our cautious and slow. I wonder how many snakes live in the dark holes I am stepping over and how many rocks over my head are ready to topple. My guide waits patiently as I climb up and over huge rocks. Soon we emerge on top of a roof and walk along its arch. From this height I am face to face with carved horses and chariots, demons and gods, mythical creatures, and dancing women. In silence we walk as he points to beautiful sights I never would have found on my own.When we eventually reach the main enterance again I can see Tim in the distance busily taking photos. This is a photographer's heaven. I give the boy a small tip and thank him for a tour I will never forget.