cambodia: ta prom temple

we flew from hanoi to siem reap, cambodia...here we are after just arriving....sportin' our trucker hats compliments of the tour company.ta prom temple....it was deserted for 500 years and became completely overgrown by the jungle....much of the growth has been cleared away, but some magnificent trees remain. it was actually nature that preserved the temple from destruction for all of those years it was abandoned. in the research i did upon returning home from cambodia, i discovered that in 1186 AD king #7 (kings are referred to in numbers!) consecrated several statues here, one of which was that of prajnaparamita - the personification of the perfection of wisdom....the mother of all buddhas.this picture gives some perspective as to how HUGE these trees were and how high the temple walls.a healing chamber with incredible acoustics. our guide told us to each pound our chests with one fist (not too hard). the sound echoed like a deep drum beat throughout the entire room.can you see the face peeking through the tree roots?manuella and jessajennifer and jennieupon leaving ta prom, we passed under this gateway with a giant buddha face on each side of the tower.we made our way to another temple nearby....david, jessa and jennifer
jennie and manuella watching from below!a little girl who we bought some postcards from at the temple....she was very giggly and sweet....she bounded up and down the steep temple stairs like she was walking on air....so picturesque....i remember looking out at this scene and feeling like i was in some sort of dream.a beautiful temple wall lined with elephants....jennifer talking with our guide