Angkor Thom – Page 2 – Traveling Mark

Angkor Thom Royal Palace Area and Violent Cambodia

The area of the Angkor Thom Royal Palace used to house the royal palace built by Suryavarman I in the 11th century. It was remodelled several times, most notably by king Jayavarman VII, builder of the entire Angkor Thom compound. It is believed that the royal palace area was in use as the royal palace area all the way until the end of the 16th century.

Photo: Angkor Thom Royal Palace Area Northern Wall Gopura

The area of the Angkor Thom Royal Palace was once surrounded by a 5 meters high wall. Only a few fragments of the wall remain today. Five gopuras (entrance gates) allowed for access to the royal palace. Main one was on the east, connected to the Terrace of the Elephants, while north and south wall had two gopuras each. After exploring the royal palace area, I exited through the gate on the northern wall, just west of Sras Srei pool.

After exiting the area I was first exposed to the sight I was looking forward to the most – ancient stone and jungle becoming one to a point that one could not be without another. This was the first thing I learned about Angkor Archaeological Park when I initially found out about it many years ago – ancient temples were abandoned, jungle grew over and across creating some of the most mind-boggling spectacles I have ever seen. I really couldn’t wait to explore Ta Prohm temple which has the most of these giant silk trees growing on top of ancient stones, but Angkor Thom Royal Palace area already contained the same, only on a much smaller scale.

Photo: Monstrous Tree Growing On Top of Stone Fence

Unfortunately, this was a rather remote spot which required getting off the well paved trail so when I exited through the gopura, I found myself in an area full of locals who looked pretty excited to see a foreigner there. I’m an explorer so my wandering feet took me to a place where no tourists ever go, but it came at a price. Cambodians enjoyed making remarks about me clearly realizing I couldn’t understand and had a good laugh at it. This was not an isolated incident though, as every foreigner visiting Cambodia gets that on virtually every step. Large groups of locals doing what they are the best at – nothing, spend their entire days sitting around, killing time by entertaining themselves by making remarks about every foreigner that comes into view. They don’t try to hide the fact that they are talking about you and the more uncomfortable they make you feel, the more entertained they get.

Photo: Gate Through the Wall Surrounding the Royal Palace Area og Angkor Thom Where a Group of Gnarly Cambodians Hung Out

By venturing off the beaten track, I turned myself into a lamb that ran straight into wolves’ den. Seeing gnarly locals a large group of which I walked up to regrouping and pointing fingers at me while clearly talking about me and planning something out reminded me of the fact that Cambodia is one of the world’s most violent countries with remote areas of Angkor counting as particularly popular spots for violent crimes including armed robberies and rape, I quickly realized I needed to get out of there as soon as possible. I can’t even fathom what would have happened if I were a female foreigner, but I clearly understood how terrifying it must have been for scores of girls who got raped at Angkor. And while rapes at Angkor (and everywhere else in Cambodia, but particularly at Angkor because that’s where the most foreign girls venture on their own not expecting a violent crime) continue to occur with alarming frequency, violent crimes committed on foreigners at Angkor are not limited to sexual abuse of the girls.

I was able to assess the situation quickly and acted accordingly to maximize my chances of getting out of there unharmed. It was a very close call, but I believe my larger than average size as well as my acting as though I had something large behind my belt allowed me to have the potential attackers rethink their strategy which gave me enough time to get back to an area with many foreigners around.

Photo: Huge Tree Growing Atop of Ancient Wall - The last Picture I Took Before Darting Off to Save my Arse

Getting off the beaten track in Cambodia is a risky business. Locals take great joy at making foreigners feel uncomfortable with remarks clearly directed at them. This happens everywhere, including public areas where they are unable to take further actions. But once a foreigner finds themselves far enough from any safe heaven, verbal remarks start turning into attempts to take action. Value of human life is about $50 in Cambodia. The police force is a joke and if someone gets murdered, their corpse will rot somewhere in the jungle until the wildlife has carried all of the remains away. With millions of the military grade weapons from the Khmer Rouge regime floating around uncontrolled and unregulated, and with Khmer Rouge killing recruits currently in their 40’s and 50’s, there are more than enough reasons for one to be extremely careful wherever they go. True Cambodian crime statistics are purposefully skewed by the government known for being the most corrupt government in the world so don’t ever rely on that. There is a very good reason as to why Cambodia is considered one of the most violent and most dangerous countries in the world. Don’t believe anyone who tells you that they’ve been here for a long time and have had no problem, because restricting where they go and staying locked up most of the day to stay safe is not the lifestyle I would enjoy.

Sras Srei – The Royal Pools of Angkor Thom

Sras Srei is a rectangular water pool within the Angkor Thom royal palace area, to the north of the Phimeanakas temple. The pond is 125 meters long and 45 meters wide. It is believed that either on the south or on the west side of Sras Srei there was a terrace which may have been used by the king and his company from where to watch water sports. Since the area around Sras Srei is overgrown with jungle, it offers much needed shade and possible breeze to cool off after exposure to the sun during climb to the summit of Phimeanakas.

Photo: Sras Srei Pool in the Angkor Thom Royal Palace Area

There is one smaller pond to the east of Sras Srei which is believed to have been the part of the original royal palace which may have stood there during the reign of Jayavarman V, Udayadityavarman I and Suryavarman I. Sras Srei was likely built by king Jayavarman VIII, the destroyer of Buddhist artefacts installed by the great builder of Angkor Thom, king Jayavarman VII. The inscriptions suggests that the two pools existed so men can have one for themselves and women one for them. Based on typical sexism of Khmer people which is still as prevalent today as it was 800 years ago, the pool for men was built to be much bigger than the pool for women. Little has changed since the Angkorian era and the men of Cambodia still treat all women (including women from abroad) as someone of a lesser worth. That’s also why Cambodia is the rape capital of the world.

Photo: Once Busy Royal Pool Sras Srei Is Now Overgrown with Jungle

The royal bath pools of Sras Srei are no longer used by the royalties to bathe in, but the waters of the basins offer much needed opportunities for local kids and monks to cool and wash in.

Phimeanakas Temple, Angkor Thom

Phimeanakas was the state temple of king Suryavarman I. It was built in late 10th to early 11th centuries which means it was at its location long before the royal city of Angkor Thom was built around it. When king Jayavarman VII had the plan for Angkor Thom laid out, he made Phimeanakas part of his Royal Palace area. Because none of the carvings on Phimeanakas survived, this temple is artistically characterless, however it’s easily scalable and provides interesting views from the top. Perhaps when Baphuon is restored and made accessible by public, the views from up there will be even better, but for now the top of Phimeanakas is the highest you can get at Angkor Thom.

Photo: Phimeanakas Temple Located Within the Royal Palace Area of Angkor Thom

Yes I did climb on top of Phimeanakas and yes it was not particularly easy. The climb itself is not too bad, the western side of the temple (the back of it) has a wooden stairway built alongside the original stone stairway to make for an easier ascend but as is the case of everywhere in Cambodia, it’s not the climb that’ll destroy you, it’s the heat. A few minutes climb up the steep staircase directly exposed to the dilapidating sun will wear you down like a marathon run. The sun will suck out the last drop of energy you had in your body by the time you made it through the initial few steps. Each time you take a breather, it will only get worse. And as if the extreme heat from the sun was not enough, the temple blocks radiate it back at you from below giving you absolutely no way to escape the destructive heat.

Photo: Staircase on the West Side of the Phimeanakas Temple is Steep, but the Easiest to Scale

Reaching the summit doesn’t make it any better. There is nowhere to escape the heat, only the rays of the sun within the blocks of stone where it seems to be hotter than in direct sunshine. The feeling of reaching the top is satisfying even though you will be entirely out of juice. The sanctuary on top is currently empty but was likely used to house a divinity while the temple was in use. According to the Khmer legend, Phimeanakas was crowned with the golden tower within which dwelt a nine-headed naga serpent which transformed into a woman every night. The king was obliged to make love with the serpent every night or else the kingdom would fall into ruin. I guess one of the kings failed in the task as once powerful Angkorian kingdom did eventually fall into ruin.

Photo: View from the Top of the Phimeanakas Temple

Photo: Phimeanakas Central Sanctuary Located on Top of the Temple

Photo: East Face of the Phimeanakas Temple Is in Much Ruin

Photo: Phimeanakas Temple West Stairway is the Best Way on Top

Terrace of the Elephants

Terrace of the Elephants is located immediately to the north of Baphuon. This 300 meters long, 2.5 meters tall stone terrace represents the front of the Royal Palace area, including the Phimeanakas temple and the Sras Srei water reservoir. If you follow the road leading towards the North Gate from the Bayon temple, you will have the Terrace of the Elephants span for over 300 meters along the road on your left hand side. There are five stairways leading up to the terrace, with central stairway being in line with the Victory Way – the road connecting the Royal Palace area with the Victory Gate. Two smaller stairways exist on either side of the central stairway and two more are at either end of the terrace.

The original name of the terrace is unknown, however the reason why it’s been referred to as the Terrace of the Elephants becomes clear as soon as one comes close to it. The walls are covered with carvings of elephants and side stairways are flanked by three-headed elephants with trunks pulling lotus flowers, similar to those found on the South Gate to Angkor Thom.

Photo: Elephant Carvings on the South Wall of the Terrace of the Elephants

Front end wall is for the most part covered in carvings containing hunting scenes with elephants. The sections of the wall between the central stairway and its small side stairways is covered with garudas – mythical bird men known as the vehicles of Hindu god Vishnu, also known for being the mortal enemies of nagas, the seven headed serpents representing rainbows. Alongside garudas, these small sections of walls contain figures of men with lion heads. Both garudas and lion-headed figures are sculpted with their hands raised above their heads and are alternating along the wall.

Photo: Terrace of the Elephants Central Stairway

I got to the Terrace of the Elephants in the early afternoon but because the terrace faces east, I had all the front end carvings as well as the three-headed elephants blackened by the shade. Terrace’s orientation clearly suggests that the best time to visit it is in the morning or anytime before noon – that’s if you want to catch it in the best lighting for photography.

Photo: Stone Lion Guarding the Terrace of the Elephants Faces the Victory Way Intersection

I climbed the central staircase to get on top of the Terrace of the Elephants where balustrades containing naga heads and guardian stone lions decorate the space. This was my access point to the rest of the Royal Palace area including an ancient temple of Phimeanakas, the Sras Srei pond, Preah Palilay and Tep Pranam. I walked back along the north side of the Royal Palace to get to the road where I accessed the Terrace of the Leper King.

There are some fine carvings on the north wall of the Terrace of the Elephants, including the carving of a five headed horse the mythical origins of which are unknown, but the pictures of this one is one of the few I was unable to recover from the formatted memory card after my laptop was stolen.

Photo: Naga Balustrade on Top of the Terrace of the Elephants

Baphuon Temple of Angkor Thom

Baphuon temple is located to the north-west of Bayon. It was built in 1060 which means it stood at its location long before the royal city of Angkor Thom was built around it. Erected during the reign of king Udayadityavarman II (ruled from 1050 to 1066), Baphuon was the state temple of Yasodharapura. Being a very old structure, Baphuon is in a great state of ruin and in desperate need of repair. Unfortunately for me, restoration works were well underway during my visit with main area of the temple mountain being off limit to tourists. Several high cranes were spoiling the view so pictures look rather crappy. It has been known for centuries that Cambodians are the laziest people in the world, but luckily the Baphuon restoration project is financed by the government of France with foreign workers involved so hopefully the temple will open for public soon.

The entrance gopura is in line with the Terrace of the Elephants which serves as an entry point to the royal palace area. Few steps got me on a narrow, 172 meters long causeway leading to the temple. The causeway must have been added later as it’s no where near as collapsed as the temple itself. There were two basins on each side of the causeway and one rectangular shaped basin to the south of the cross shaped pavilion in the middle of it.

Photo: 172m Long Causeway Leading to the Baphuon Temple with Lazy Locals Killing Time

Even though I couldn’t access the temple itself, I stood in awe over its size. It appears to be taller than nearby Bayon and consist of four or five floors (unlike Bayon which only has three). I walked around Baphuon noticing countless stone blocks randomly scattered along the fields surrounding the temple. Construction noise was coming from within giving an impression that works are being done to make the temple accessible to public one day. Wooden stairs are being built for easier access to upper levels of the temple but how long it’ll take to make it safe for visiting is anyone’s guess.

Photo: Cranes Towering Over Baphuon Temple in Angkor Thom

I understand there is an impressive statue of a reclining Buddha in western gallery of the second tier, but for obvious reasons I never got to see it. I can also imagine the view of Angkor Thom from the summit much be impressive. Perhaps one day when restoration of Baphuon is finished and temple made available for visit, I will make it back to Cambodia and get to see what I couldn’t during my first visit.

Photo: Much of Baphuon Temple is in Ruin

Photo: Restoration Works on Baphuon Temple Include Installation of Wooden Stairs

Preah Ngok

To the north-west of majestic Bayon temple is a small Buddhist shrine called Preah Ngok (sometimes spelled as Preah Ngoc). Even though small in overall size, it houses a rather large statue of Buddha sitting with his legs crossed and eyes only slightly open. The shrine appears to be reasonably modern, but the statue itself is believed to have come from late Angkorian era. Some say the statue has been there since the 13th century even though the chapel itself has been rebuilt several times over the centuries.

Because of its small size and apparent insignificance, the Preah Ngok shrine is missed by most visitors to Angkor. I had the whole thing for myself when I made my brief pause to take a few pictures of it, however a few Cambodian nuns sporting shaved heads and white robes kept me company. Through my own eyes, the most significant part of Preah Ngok appeared to be its similarity to more famous shrine called Tep Pranam which is located just north of the Terrace of the Leper King and aside from looking strikingly similar, it also houses a statue of Buddha that looks virtually identical to that of Preah Ngok.

Photo: Sandstone Statue of Buddha at Preah Ngoc Attended to by Two Cambodian Nuns

I don’t know the reason behind such similarities and I’m quite likely the only person in the world who noticed that. None of the locals I spoke with seemed to have noticed or cared and none of the guide books to Angkor ever compared the two. But that’s probably because none of the guide books ever mentions Preah Ngok in the first place.

Bayon Northern Library Restoration Works

Bayon Northern Library was the most intriguing structure I have found within the Angkor Thom state temple. The northern library is a small, stand alone building in the north-east corner of Bayon. There is a twin sister of the library located in the south-east corner of Bayon, but this one is in a very desolate state whereas the northern one has undergone extensive restoration by the team of Japanese professionals who brought it to the state at which I found it.

Photo: North Library of Bayon Attracted Many People

There were more locals and tourists at the northern library than anywhere else within Bayon. It was very intriguing to see so many people concentrated around one single structure so I felt inclined to come and check it out closely. To my disappointment there was absolutely nothing about this structure making it special, however in the process of exploring, I have learned a lot about the restoration process conducted by the JSA. The information panels had this to say:

Northern Library was one of the most dangerous structures in Bayon Temple complex. JSA carried out the restoration work in accordance with the following principles:

Preserving not only the appearance, but also the original construction method to the furthest extent possible.
Restoration methods applied so far has focused on reinforcing the soil around the compound with the concrete wall and installation of sandstone on the outer side as a veneer. Considering lack of original materials and insufficient manpower at the beginning of the project, this was the best option available. JSA was committed to respecting the traditional construction methods to the fullest extent but was also determined to apply modern construction know-how to eliminate structural weaknesses of the original method.

Applying the stabilizing process of the compound soil layer using the solidification mechanism.
After successful experiments with slake lime, the decision has been made to add small amounts to the sand to reinforce the soil under and around the northern library. By applying this method, sandstone and laterite blocks fulfil both ornamental and structural functions of the construction material used in the past.

Procuring new materials.
In order to use original construction methods, it is necessary to procure the same material. Restoration of lost parts is impossible without sufficient supply of sandstone and laterite used during the original construction. After searching for stones with the co-operation of the Ministry of Mine and Energy of Cambodia for two years, JSA finally succeeded in obtaining sandstone that was in color and hardness close to the kind used in Bayon. Restoration works progressed after new laterite blocks were quarried, allowing for replacement of significantly deteriorated lateriate blocks in the foundation mass with new ones. The original delay was caused by immediate proximity of the quarry to the Khmer Rouge camp surrounded by heavily undermined minefields, and absence of good roads.

Restoration methods by the partial dismantling.
Because the roof and walls had suffered from considerable deformation due to uneven settlements, dismantling and reconstructions were necessary. East and west corners of the library were beyond repair, however because the central part of the foundation mass sank evenly, it was possible to leave it in its original condition, dismantling only the corner edges of the building.

Photo: Steep Stairs Leading Up to the Northern Bayon Library, View from the West

Exploring Bayon Temple (Pictures and Facts)

Exploring Bayon is a challenging but rewarding experience. The temple is very complex both in terms of architecture and symbolism and offers many an opportunity to theorize on its structure and meaning. King Jayavarman VII who had the temple built had it altered several times but the modifications continued even after his death. It is believed that when originally built, Bayon had 49 face towers – towers adorned with giant faces each facing one cardinal point. Even after extensive restoration works, only 37 of Bayon’s towers are still standing. Let’s take a look at some of Bayon’s facts. This guide will be accompanied with pictures.

Just as is the case with most Angkor temples, Bayon faces east. I approached Bayon from the south after crossing the South Gate of Angkor Thom and turned right on the T intersection which got me on the road encircling the temple. Turning right took me to the main entrance in front of which I parked my bicycle (at the elephant station).

Broad, two-levelled terrace serving as an approach to Bayon is guarded by stone lions and naga serpent as balustrades on far sides. Despite extensive restoration works, much of the terrace is in desolate state but the feel of walking on ancient stones is much stronger than any other structure at Angkor. The sun was frying me alive and was far more intense now as it got closer to noon, than it was during my exploration of Angkor Wat.

Photo: Collapsed Corridor at the East Entrance to Bayon

Entrance gopura (gate) consists mostly of collapsed stone frames serving as doors but there are no walls. Piles of giant stones lie scattered randomly around as archaeologists try to figure out which ones belong together so they can paste the whole temple together to its intended look.

Galleries within outer enclosure contain extensive carvings and bas reliefs. It comes as a striking contrast seeing fine work of artists who skilfully covered entire exterior wall with beautiful bas reliefs against the pile of disorganized, large rectangular stones laid piled up right opposite of it. Much work needs to be done to fully restore Bayon.

Photo: Bas Reliefs Depicting the War Against Armies of Cham - Exterior Wall of Bayon

I turned left at the main entrance because the bas relief on this section of the outer wall seemed the most interesting. The carvings continue around the corner and throughout the south wall which has its own, collapsed gopura. There are several chapels within the exterior wall that can be entered as you’re exploring the bas reliefs. Because Bayon was a state temple, I think these chapels once house statues of divinities.

As I got within the outer enclosure, the face towers took more distinct shape. From the outside they appear as a disorganized pile of rocks sticking up. Countless hallways and wall-less corridors make navigation trickier as you get inside. Several flights of stairs are available to take to get to the second and third levels. Some are easy to climb, others downright dangerous, especially if you’re carrying a DSLR camera like I did.

Photo: Free-Standing Bayon Face Tower at Angkor Thom, Cambodia

Because Bayon was remodelled so many times after taking its original shape, exploring the interior of the temple is a bit confusing. The temple is large to begin with but oddly structured galleries and terraces which were added later made it difficult to set out on an obviously best way to explore it all. The best way for me to describe it is by thinking of it as a maze without walls. You can exit any corridor through the wall that is not there and get to another corridor through the wall it doesn’t have. It’s literally akin to cheating in a videogame. You are an explorer of an ancient temple on a mission to find holy grail, but you hacked the game and can just take shortcuts.

The face towers are clearly the most attractive and photogenic (picture friendly) part of Bayon. Aside from crowning the entrance gates (gopuras), the face towers can also be found at corner angles but also as free-standing pillars on upper level. Because many of these towers were added later, they don’t seem to be placed in any logical order and just give an impression of being there to rise up to the sky.

When I reached the upper terrace, I was offered several good opportunities to take pictures of the giant faces. The space on top seems more organized with fewer collapsed structures and it’s overall less tight (as far as breathing space is involved). From here you can get up close and personal with the free-standing face towers.

Historical inscriptions suggests that Jayavarman VIII, a rather insignificant Khmer king who took over the kingdom after Jayavarman VII has order a destruction of Buddhist symbols and initiated conversion to Hinduism. It was during his rule, when 3.6 meters tall statue of Buddha sitting on a body of a serpent whose multi-headed head shelters him was destroyed. Remarkably, all pieces of this statue, which was originally housed in the oval sanctuary at the heart of Bayon, were recovered enabling full restoration of the image. There are several smaller replicas of the same statue throughout Bayon, but the original, restored piece was relocated and is currently housed in Vihear Prampil Loveng – a small pavilion south of the Victory Way (road connecting Victory Gate with the Royal Palace area), next to South Khleang.

When you get to a sanctuary housing a statue of Buddha, there will likely be some locals inside as well. They sit and patiently wait inside with incense sticks at the ready and as soon as a foreigner enters the room, the sticks will be handed to them. It is a natural instinct of every person to take what is offered to them, especially if statue of a local divinity is present. This is exactly what these people are counting on because once you grab a hold of what is handed to you, they won’t be taking it back but will be insisting that you make a donation that as they claim, would go to the monks and to the preservation of the temple. None of the money provided will ever make it to any purpose other than personal enrichment of a person who gets the money from you. Just as almost everything else in Cambodia, this is a scam. The best way to protect yourself is to never ever impulsively take anything that is handed to you. No matter whether the person handing you stuff is a kid, or a nun with shaved head and robe draped around her body – the purpose is to abuse the presence of the divinity and scam you out of money. Don’t be surprised if you get told to “f%$k off” or called “stingy” or “a$$hole” by a kid whom you didn’t give any money. You may not see this anywhere else in the world, but in Cambodia, touts will not hesitate to call you names and swear straight in your face if they fail at scamming you of money.

Photo: Cambodian Woman Praying Before the Statue of Buddha at Bayon Temple

Once I got the layout of Bayon more or less figured out, I saw it as a structure consisting out of three main sections. Starting from top middle, there is an oval sanctuary that is the center of the temple originally assigned to house the large statue of Buddha which was later destroyed as described above. The oval sanctuary is surrounded by four corridors creating an orthodox cross around it. These serve as access points to the sanctuary with east entrance being the largest. This is the third, top tier of Bayon.

Second tier consists of rectangular inner galleries (second enclosure) encircling the orthodox cross with the circular sanctuary in the middle of it. First tier consists of outer galleries (exterior enclosure). Passages at each cardinal point connect outer galleries with the inner ones.

Photo: Extensive Bas Reliefs Covering Bayon's Exterior Wall

Bayon is covered with extensive bas reliefs. Earlier carvings mostly contain scenes from every day life at Angkor Thom as well as the battles with Champa armies on the great lake whereas later carvings contain scenes from Hindu mythology, signifying the conversion of the religion during the reign of Jayavarman VIII.

Bayon was a temple honouring a host of gods which gave it the name of “Tevea Vinichay”, which loosely translates as “Assembly of the Gods”. Its principal sanctuary housed an image of Buddha, but dozens of other sanctuaries housed various provincial and local Khmer gods. Inscriptions on door jabs of these small sanctuaries tell us about the many gods housed by them during the reign of Jayavarman VII.

North East corner of Bayon has a small, stand alone gallery with many people inside. There was another such gallery at the south-east corner but because that part of Bayon is in much ruin, there was nobody there. I thought something interesting must surely be within the gallery given the number of people inside and around it so I went to take a climb. The access was extremely difficult as stone steps are high and steep, much steeper than I had seen anywhere before. To my disappointment, there was absolutely nothing inside. I think people were just hanging in there, killing time. Some interesting bas reliefs could be found on the outer wall of the gallery, otherwise nothing excessively special about it.

I spent several hours exploring Bayon. I started in late morning and wasn’t done until early afternoon. This basically means that I spent the hottest part of the day marking the ancient stones of the temple with my sweat. As I found out later, this was a great idea. Vast majority of organized tours take their high paying customers back to Siem Reap during noon hours so they can have lunch in one of the air-conditioned restaurants. The number of tourists at Angkor drops significantly during that time. As such, it is advisable for solo explorers to brave the midday heat and continue exploring the temples during lunch hours despite intense sun.

Because Bayon is the second most famous temple of Angkor (second only to Angkor Wat) and is a must-see for everyone coming to Angkor Archaeological Park, there were a few dozen people sharing the temple with me despite scorching midday sun. However it is better to have to share it with a few dozen people, than with hundreds, who on top of it all have an escort with an umbrella to shelter them from the sun and oftentimes a guide as well.

The best time to visit Bayon would be either very early in the morning (when all organized tours are at Angkor Wat), during noon (when all organized tours are back in Siem Reap for lunch) or in late afternoon (after 4pm, when all organized tours are either in Banteay Srei or already lining people up to go on Phnom Bakheng to watch sunset from the hill). The worst time of the day would be between 8am and 10.30am when dozens of buses full of rich tourists park it next to the temple and release hundreds of people to swarm the temple, turning it into an anthill full of crawling creatures.

Photo: Bayon Temple in Rainy Season with Reflection in the Water Basin

Even though already completely devastated from exposure to extreme sun, after I was done exploring Bayon, I was still determined to complete the small circuit the same day. I was done with two of the largest structures to explore, but many more to go. Angkor Thom itself had several more iconic pieces nearby. I made an attempt to stop at one of the food stalls north west of the temple but touts were so aggressive, I opted for a swift dart off. The temple of Baphuon, which is 200 years older than Bayon was next.

Bayon Face Towers Photo Gallery

After the silhouette of Angkor Wat, the Face Towers of Bayon temple are the most iconic and enigmatic images of Angkor. There are currently 37 towers adorning Bayon with gargantuan faces of Avalokiteshvara, remarkably resembling features of king Jayavarman VII who had them built. While looking at the face towers of Bayon from the ground level delivers little thrill, walking up to the top level of the temple and standing face to face with these giant heads – almost looking them in the eyes, more than makes up for it. Because Bayon Face Towers are an icon on their own, I have decided to create a photo gallery dedicated especially to them, separately from main Bayon temple photo gallery.

Photo: Bayon Central Sanctuary on the Left, Face Tower on the Right

Photo: Smiling Faces of the Bayon Face Towers

Photo: Bayon Face Tower on the Corner of the Gallery

Photo: Stone Frame and a Tower of Four Giant Faces Looking to Cardinal Point

Photo: Bayon Face Tower Towering Before Tall Cambodian Trees

Photo: Carved Decoration Around the Head of King Jayavarman VII aka Lokiteshvara

Photo: Bayon Face Tower Discolored as the Centuries Went By

Photo: Entrance Gopura Decorated with a Tower of Four Faces

Photo: Face Tower on Top of the Entrance Gate to Bayon Temple

Photo: Face Towers of Bayon Guarding Angkor Thom of Ancient Cambodia

Photo: Forest of Face Towers Decorates Bayon Temple

Photo: Faces Bearing Full Lips of Khmer King Jayavarman VII at Bayon

Photo: Looking Up for a Glimpse of a Face Tower of Bayon

Photo: Lotus Shaped Face Tower Adorning Bayon Temple

Photo: Countless Face Towers of the Bayon Temple

Photo: Bayon Face Tower with More Serious Facial Expression

Photo: Partially Restored Bayon Face Towers

Photo: Restored Bayon Face Tower Still Misses Some Features

Bayon Temple Photo Gallery

Bayon was built by king Jayavarman VII as his state temple at the end of 12th century, after he drove out the Chams who sacked the place. Today, Bayon is best known for its iconic towers crowned with four giant faces, each looking out to a respective cardinal point. Bayon is the center of Angkor Thom and symbolizes Mount Meru, sacred mountain in the center of the universe (inspired from Hindu cosmology). This photo gallery is a collection of photographs I took of Bayon temple when I was exploring it.

Bayon has a multitude of symbolic functions. Outer walls of Angkor Thom constitute its outermost enclosure within which Bayon stands as the pivotal mountain in the Churning of the Sea of Milk. Protected at each entrance by Hindu serpent Vasuki, the gods and demons who rotate it exert the “Elixir of Immortality” from the depths of the water that surrounds it.

Bayon was built to be a Mahayana Buddhist temple. Statue of Buddha seated on and sheltered by a multi-headed serpent Mucilinda was originally housed in the central prasat but was later smashed and thrown into the foundation well after death of Jayavarman VII, indicating change in religion (revival of Brahmanism). The statue went out of knowledge until it was re-discovered by archaeologists in 1933.

Bayon’s exterior galleries have walls covered in bas reliefs but aside from a few passages, lack roofs. Many bas relief characters are Chinese, who are seen as both soldiers and businessmen, often with Khmer women, sometimes with friends drinking and dancing. Random scenes from daily life of people occupying the Angkor Thom city compound are portrayed in bas reliefs of exterior galleries. I’ll let the pictures introduce you to the beauty of the Bayon temple: