Ta Prohm Temple In The Morning

Ta Prohm in the morning is indescribable. We knew it would be good, but the reality was just out of this world.

It's like being in a secret jungle temple, far away from the city. With the sun barely out, there's mystery and magic in the air. With no visitors in sight, it was easy to get lost in the Angkorian ancient world.

Who would have thought that waking up early would give all that unforgettable experience?

We woke up at 5 am in the morning. Left the villa at 6 am when it was still pitch dark.

The morning ride was quite awesome! We get to see the morning Siem Reap's sky changing colors, a really pretty sight. It was a nice experience too, to be up and about in the early morning, and see that people were already awake, shown by the busy Siem Reap main streets.

As we took the road to Angkor Wat, though, less and less vehicles were around us. It was as if we had the road for ourselves. I loved it.

When we got to Ta Prohm, I was rather nervous exploring a temple by ourselves. Especially when we've never been there before,  it's still dark,  and no other tourists seem to be around.

After some 10 minutes walk, we saw Ta Prohm for the first time. All of the  nervous feeling went out the window. The temple looks old and magical.

No one was around (yey!). We walked around at a leisurely pace. Taking everything in slowly.

After some time, we were still in wonder that we were at Ta Prohm, amidst all things that are ancient and far older than us. The sun started to shine, and the morning was unfolding slowly and silently.

We continued our walk into the temple. More temple ruins, just as promised.

We looked above, and some structures have natural sun roofs.

We saw many apsara dancers carved on the walls and near the door frame.

Ta Prohm temple is overrun by trees. Most of them are very large and old. The roots that enfulfed the structures are very interesting to behold.

More amazing tree roots.

Even more tree roots that look more like giant spider's webs.

It took us about one hour to just roam around the temple, from front to back, and then to front again. During the whole morning, we saw at most 6 other visitors, and we didn't see much of them. If you go to Ta Prohm in later in the day, that kind of situation is impossible.

After that  morning visit to Ta Prohm, we went back to the temple the next day in the afternoon, and it was very crowded and noisy. Plus, it didn't look near as pretty as it is in the morning. It looked like a completely different temple, actually. In the afternoon, the magical aura just wasn't there.

You even had queues to take pictures of you and the trees! Also, almost every shot you take will have visitors in it. Yes, it's that crowded. It's one of the Tomb Raider Cambodia temples, other than Beng Melea, so it is understandably  quite famous.

Therefore, my most sincere recommendation to you is, go to this magical temple early in the morning. You will then have much quality time with this magical temple, and the morning environment will just intensify your experience ten times over. Funny as it sounds, Ta Prohm in the morning beats Ta Prom in the afternoon hands down.

To have the maximum I would even go so far as to advise on being in Ta Prohm by 6am, instead of leaving by 6 am. That is what I would do the next time I go there.

How to do Ta Prohm in the morning

Easy as pie! All you need is a tuktuk driver, booked in advance, so you can leave early in the morning. We did it for $5, and the driver will wait for you outside the temple until you're done. This trip takes around 3 hours max. More than that, the cost may be more.

Other than tuktuk, another thing you need is the  willpower to wake up early at the crack of dawn. That could be hard for some people, but trust me, it is so worth it! Totally can not be missed, which is why morning Ta Prohm is number #3 on our Must See & Do list.

Oh, one last thing. Make sure you're equipped with fully charged batteries. Time goes by fast in the morning, and you can lose precious minutes at this Tom Raider Angkor temple if you're not prepared.

Kampung Phluk: A Different World

Would you like a real and authentic cultural experience while in Cambodia? Kampung Phluk is your answer. Going to this river village by the Tonle Sap lake is like stepping into another world. Number #1 on our list.

Beng Melea, A Temple Ruins In The Jungle

Beng Melea is the one place for adventure travel. It's not far, it's not hard to get to, but surprisingly there are hardly any tourists. Put on your adventure hat and get lost in the world of ancient temples. Number #2 on our list.

Angkor Wat Sunset At Phnom Bakheng

Where is the one great place to watch the sunset at Angkor Wat? You will get different answers to this, but one name will come up often, and that is Phnom Bakheng. And we agree, but for a totally different reason than the usual. Number #4 on our list.

Life in a Cambodian Village

When you're in Cambodia, why not visit a Cambodian Village? We did it, in fact, we spent a whole day there, and we had so much fun! We go so far as to put it as our number #5 on our must see and must do list.

Return from Ta Prohm to Holiday In Cambodia, where you can see our top 5 must see and do list.

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