Thailand
Thailand
Capital: Bangkok Official languages: Thai Location: Asia Appearance in games: |
Thailand is a country in south-east Asia. A popular tourist destination, it is here that Lara Croft goes in search of one of Thor's Gauntlets in Tomb Raider Underworld.
Summary
The level starts with a short cutscene in which Lara examines the coastal cliffs of the area she is about to explore from her yacht. She explains to Zip and Alister about the congruence between mythological underworlds. Lara's father Richard Croft has already excavated this site in the past.
Lara climbs up a cliff, and further exploration of the clifftops leads her to an ancient, hidden temple. Lara cannot however go straight into the temple, but make a roundabout route by dropping back to the jungle floor and climbing onto the ruins again. Finally she comes out on top of a courtyard with various balconies surrounding it. Here Lara gives us more information about the Hindu netherworld Patala and its capital Bhogavati, and identifies the statues ahead of her as Shiva and his mistress Kali.
Lara then removes some pieces of machinery that lock in place a platform that would originally have lowered devotees down to the lower courtyard. Using a lever on top of the platform releases it and plunges Lara towards the ground. On the ground level, Lara faces some reptilian creatures known as Nagas.
To progress through the level, Lara must discover two of Shiva's Mirrors, and activate the Shiva statue, opening up a pathway into the Thailand Underworld, Bhogavati.
Beneath the Shiva courtyard, Lara discovers that Thor's Gauntlets give her the power to move gigantic structures with little effort. Unfortunately for Lara, her father has already raided that cavern and removed the Gauntlet that resided there. He also desicrated an engraving of a map, displaying the location of Thor's other Gauntlet, his belt Megingjörd and his hammer, Mjolnir.
Richard Croft left behind a message, revealing that he was once in the employment of Jacqueline Natla:
Natla, I see your goal and am your puppet no longer. RJC
The initials RJC were left as a cryptic clue for Lara to find, revealing that Thor's Gauntlet was relocated to beneath Croft Manor.
Notes
It should be noted that there is only a very small Hindu minority in Thailand, and certainly the religion never gained a lot of popularity there, as most devotees throughout history have been concentrated in the Indian subcontinent, and predominantly Southern India and of course Nepal.
