Bayon: Ancient Temple in an Ancient City

Angkor used to be the capital of Cambodia, during the Khmer time from the 9th to 15th century. It is hard for me to believe that this forest, with several ruins, was where around a million people, with great culture, lived. It was said that in the 15th century the Khmer Kings abandoned Angkor. Angkor Thom lost its power and people abandoned the city for hundreds of years. (Read about the story of Angkor in bbc.com) Only the local monks and villagers know of this ancient city within the jungle until it was found in the 1860s and archaeologists came to uncover it.  And the great temple complex was revealed to the world. To date, around 2 million tourists come to see this enchanting place. 

Bayon temple ruins

Tourists..tons of them...and there's Carlos and Dracuse 

Angkor Thom was then the center of power, and is surrounded and protected by a wall. The Bayon temple, which is the temple of the King, is right in the middle of the Angkor Thom. The Bayon (or Prasat Bayon) is one of the must-visit temple ruins in Angkor Wat. Even in its current state, it is a beauty. 

The temple has galleries in the lower ground and several standing towers (it is said to have 37 remaining towers to date) . We first explored the galleries in the lower ground. Our guide showed us the different sculptures (or they refer to it as bas-reliefs) in the wall. Through the bas reliefs, we were taken back to the Khmer time.  It reveals everyday life scenes of the Khmer during the 1200s and 1300s. This includes processions, market scenes and cockfighting. The bas reliefs also show historical scenes, which are mostly about battles: marching armies, horsemen, naval battle, and war machines.  Legends and mythology are also etched in the gallery walls. We were amazed at the details. I was wondering how many years it took them to carve everything , by hand. 

The upper terrace of the temple has towers. Each of the tower has three or four gigantic stone faces.  It is said that the upper terrace has more than 200 stone faces, each is around 13 feet tall. If only for these 800+ years old stone faces, Bayon is one of the most spectacular temples I have ever seen.

Bayon is a bucket-list worthy destination.  

Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom (which means Great City) is a walled city inside the Angkor which was the capital of the Khmer empire.  It was built sometime in the 12th century and where the priests, and the palace and military officials lived. Now, the walled city is a huge complex with several ancient ruins. 

We entered the walled city of Angkor Thom via the South Gate.  There was traffic when we reached the gate.

Whoa...all roads lead to Angkor Thom

Traffic at the south gate

Near the gate, there are elephants which can be rented to take the guests around.

Yang Min, making sure I wont be able to run away from the elephant

The south gate has very interesting details. Giant faces, each showing different expressions, line up the road to the gate.  On the left side (if you are entering the city and facing the gate) are 54 figures of gods, whose expressions are either smiling, serious or serene. On the left side are 54 demons, with grimace on their faces. The gods are holding /pulling the head of a snake, while the demons are pulling its tail.

The demon gods

Rekha is not scared of them..

The south gate is an elegant entry tower. At the top of the tower are giant faces facing the four directions. The lower half are elephant statues with the figure of god sitting on each of the elephants.

The south gate is a lovely, elegant entry tower.  However, after I entered the walled city, I had to get out of it again. Work got in the way of my tour and I received a call to go back to the hotel for a short meeting about the workshop arrangements.  The tour guide was kind enough to ask the driver to take to the hotel, wait and take me back again to the Angkor Wat (and I only needed to add USD5 for the gas). What that meant however was me, missing the tour of the Elephant Court  and the other temples in the Angkor Thom. 

The good news was, when I came back, I was right on time for the Bayon temple ( well our kind tour guide has arranged for it so that I will be able to join the Bayon tour..shhhh).