Lara Croft's Taproom

Visited the Ta Prohm temple today. If you say it fast it sounds like "taproom". Like Angkor Wat (see previous blog entry), it was sacked by Siamese invaders. Unlike Angkor Wat it was then abandoned, and the jungle was allowed to take over the temple. This gives it the classic "ancient ruined temple in the jungle" look, with tree roots intermingling with the stones of the temple, as seen in such movies as "Raiders of the Lost Ark". The movie "Tomb Raider" was actually filmed here and the depiction of the temple in the movie was quite accurate. The photo on the right is the tree Angelina Jolie fell off in the movie. She then discovered the treasure map at the bottom (supposedly, I didn't see the movie).

I bought a handmade wooden mouth harp here for $1, just to see if it works (it kind of did).
Spent the afternoon exploring the area around the Old Market and Pub Street in Siem Reap. Most dishes in restaurants are about $3. Draft beer (Angkor) is $0.50. I got a very good 1 hr massage for $5.