Elevation (Ta Promh Temple, Cambodia)

Welcome back dear reader to part 2 of our big temple day. Today's title is a U2 song. Yes U2, the most overrated band in the world, but they did the soundtrack, Elevation, to Tomb Raider and that's where we headed, after resting up following our dawn visit to Angkor Wat.

Lets get it out of the way. Tomb raider.

Aside from Angelina Jolie's character, Lara Croft, running around the Ta Promh temple site, it has two major claims to fame. First, many sections have been restored, and second, the giant ficus trees that are, in parts, holding the walls together and in other areas, pulling them down. That really is a ying/yang situation.

Another face watching us enter.

This is the third temple we have visited and the first without a substantial moat, although there is a pond. The entrance is fairly typical, run the gauntlet through the souvenir stands with their hawkers and then enter the temple grounds through a gate in the sizeable stone wall.

The pond or lake. Whatever.

Unlike Angkor Wat, this temple does not have multiple levels, towers or spires reaching for the sky. It does have a more modest tower at the centre of the structure which has the centre point of significance. This area is said to have contained many pearls and gemstones, now gone. Lara Croft is almost certainly not to blame for this misappropriation; perhaps some were "acquired" by the British Museum? I was going to suggest that as the discussion ensued at the site, but being surrounded by colonisers, I kept mum.

The obligatory arty shot.

Some areas are still rubble although the restoration process must be lauded. It is like putting together a massive 3D jigsaw puzzle of moss-covered stone blocks. "Where would you start"? I enquired of Jayne. "Easy", was the reply. "Look for the corners and the edges and start there". Droll, very droll.

Before and after. Have a close look. Amazing.

The colossal trees that grow around the grounds, over the walls and buildings were identified by our guide as a variety of ficus. However, there is disagreement over the accurate naming of the tree. Regardless, they dominate the temple. The trees have an interesting relationship with the structure of the temple. Some sections, inseparable from the walls, are probably stopping it from further decay. In other areas, they have compromised the structure and once embedded, have fallen during storms, damaging the walls in the process.

Help or hindrance?

Excavations in one area uncovered over 400 statues of Buddha. Each one meticulously decapitated. A particularly Cromwellian manoeuvre. Who inspired whom? We'll never know.

Not thinking, jus sitting.

One of the reliefs that adorns a gateway on the major wall had what appeared to be, a carving of a stegosaurus. Pseudoscience and conspiracy theories abound. However, what appears to be the sails on the back of the stegosaurus, is actually the depiction of mountains and is common in this period. The beast itself is a rhinoceros. A great discussion point and one for the tin-foil hat wearing brigade. Or those that watch SkyNews After Dark. What's that dear reader? That Venn diagram would be be a circle. Yes, you are absolutely correct.

Here it is. Controversial.

The excitement of using U2 in a blog momentarily distracted me... En route to the temple, we had stopped briefly at ODA, a school for disadvantaged local children, either orphans or from single parent families. It is a boarding school. The children sleep two to a double bed, cosy in this climate. The girls' dormitory is downstairs and the boys' up a very steep set of stairs.

The main concept is to teach the children English, but the owner/founder is an artist, so art plays an important role in the day-to-day operation. Particularly as the children's artwork is used as a fundraising opportunity and is sold to visiting tourists. In fact, ODA stands for Opportunities for Development through Art and, what originally began as a haven for 34 children, has now mushroomed elsewhere to foster over 1000 kids. This facility, still capped at 34 with a one-out one-in policy, is partially self-funded but is also maintained by donations from the public and businesses such as APT, who match passenger contributions, dollar for dollar.

The classroom.

After a performance of a Cambodian traditional dance by some of the students, the principal spoke about the school's history and work and then we were taken on a tour of the place by students. This exercise was partly a vehicle for the students to practise their English. We were with two girls, one of whom had been at the school for 4 years and could converse pretty well. The other student was younger and had only been at the school for one year. She had far less English, but together they showed us where they learn, sleep and cook, finishing off in the studio where they showcased their artwork.

Our visit to ODA complete, the remaining 11 brave souls from the 'green family' returned to the bus and made their way to the 'tomb raider' temple. There were actually 23 people in our group, but as the trip continued, the numbers participating in the activities varied and most recently, dropped off completely. 

I have a love-hate relationship with tours such as these. FOMO, the fear of missing out, generally forces me to participate in every activity which can lead to being over-tired. Further, it can be emotionally exhausting spending time with people you don't know and really don't care about. Especially if they are not very personable or likeable. As a result, everyone needs some downtime as the journey progresses. Happily, we were most fortunate on this tour to meet some absolutely lovely people. I even forgave them for being Victorians. You know who you are 😉.

There's a function on tonight.

As you know my dear reader, while I might comment on random people we come across in our travels, it is even unusual for me to nominate a nationality. I prefer to leave that to your own prejudice. Consequently, I rarely pass commentary on those with whom I'm travelling. Not this time. We were forced to share our time with some extremely rude, entitled travellers from the 'mother country'. Interestingly, most of them did not look happy and did very little to interact outside of their clique. Sour faces, pushing to be first in line or ignoring the guide and wandering off on their own, or standing in the middle of the photo that everyone was waiting to snap. They also brought the germs and coughed, spluttered and sneezed their way around Asia, infecting others on the tour. Aside from that, they were a delight to be with.

The pool area at night.

APT, alert to the fact that many of us would have expended our 'social capital' by this point, did not schedule a group dinner. We opted for room service: spring rolls, a very tasty baguette accompanied by a bottle of red and an early night.

Until next time.