Ta Prohm

It seems like visiting the temple that Tomb Raider was filmed at would be a cheesy touristy thing to do and that it would be a real disappointment to see- right?- since we all know that movies make things out to be a lot more impressive than they tend to be. Well, Ta Prohm is the temple where Lara Croft had some of her adventures, and while it is not what is pictured in the movie- it was my favorite temple and is none the less impressive.

We did learn that the movie involved shooting at approximately 6 different locations in Siem Reap for the scene that looks like she is just in one temple, and there are really only about 2-3 shots from Ta Prohm- mostly of her climbing through holes in walls and the impressive trees around- some of the shots are in the photos here.

My favorite part about this temple are the trees- they are called Spung trees- and they are overtaking the temple inch by inch. It's amazing. The trees have been growing for hundreds of years- some seem to be causing the walls to crumble, others are the only thing holding the pieces together. Ta Prohm is a huge complex and you can easily wander around here for a hour or more. I highly recommend going to this temple.