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This state-temple built during the era of King Jayavarman VII proves to be a favourite for many reasons. Just to name two, the carved faces on the towers are beautifully crafted and are placed at a level where you can marvel at the intricacies of these beauties.
The second very good reason is to view the lovely bas reliefs on the exterior walls of the temple. The bas reliefs not only provide a historical depiction during Jayavarman's time, but also the close relationship that the Angkorians had with the Chinese.
Written Sep 8, 2007
The four-faced statues that sit on top of each of the gate are so in-your-face that it would be hard to miss them. It seems as if King Jayavaman VII placed them there to shower blessings upon those who walk through the gates.
Though I believe that there is an exception - the Chams whom the Angkorian King recaptured the capital from in 1181.
Updated Sep 8, 2007
Riding on an elephant, the ruler looks on as his subjects bowed respectfully to welcome the return of the king. Adding to the granduer of things are the 108 massive statues that lines the causeway towards his royal palace.
I trodded the path of the king albeit a little less pomp. I walked towards the South Gate and was greeted with 54 devas (gods) and 54 asuras (demons) lining the left and right of the causeway respectively.
Ain't that cool? Me walking the path of the king?
Updated Sep 8, 2007
Angkor Thom ("Great City") was buildt by the end of 12th century by king Jayavarman VIIth about 1 km north of Angkor Wat. In its center lies Bayon as its main temple. Bayon is as famous as Angkor Wat, due to its about 200, meter-high giant stone-faces, situated in most of the temples towers.They show the face of the smiling Boddhisattva Lokeshvara.
Updated Jul 2, 2007
Address: about 1 km north of Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayon
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Jayavarman VII's temple mountain that stands at the center of Angkor Thom. It is one of the most popular of Angkor's monuments and a place of narrow corridors, steep flights of stairs and an amazing collection of towers decorated with over 200 smiling faces.
Written Apr 17, 2007
Bayon is at the center of Ankgor Thum and, with its large carved faces, is one of Angkor's most endearing ruins. There are 54 towers in all, each with four carved heads facing one of the points of the compass.
Written Feb 23, 2007
Angkor Thum is surrounded by four walls, eight meters high and three kilometers long on each side. The walls in turn are surrounded by a 100-meter wide moat. To enter the compound, you must go through one of the five gateways set in Angkor Thum's walls. The gateways are approached by stone causeways crossing the moat, each of which has 54 god images on the left and 54 demon images on the right. Each of the gateways also features four heads facing the points of a compass.
Written Feb 23, 2007
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Tallest scalable temple in Angkor Thom, providing a nice view from the top.
Legend has it say that the golden tower was inhabited by a serpent, which would transform into a woman. The kings of Angkor were required to make love with the serpent every night, else disaster will be fall upon him or the kingdom.
Oh! Behave baby!!! (say it in Austin Powers' style)
Updated Feb 6, 2007
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The South Gate is the busiest gate and is passable by most medium size tourist bus. Is a gateway to all tourists to Bayon & other nearby Wats.
"The east gate (of Angkor Thom) was most recently used as a location on Tomb Raider where the bad guys broken into the ‘tomb’ by pulling down a giant (polystyrene) apsara."
FYI, all the 4 gates were built with identical design but facing different direction, level of damages & restoration.
Updated Feb 6, 2007
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If you have limited time to visit all the Wats. Make sure you visit Bayon & Angkor Wat. There are the two most grand & important Wats in the entire Angkor Wat Archeological Park.
The best of Bayon are the bas-reliefs on the exterior walls of the lower level and on the upper level where the stone faces reside.
Updated Feb 6, 2007
Reviews and photos of Angkor Thum attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Angkor Thum sightseeing.
If you have limited time to visit all the Wats. Make sure you visit Bayon & Angkor Wat. There are the two most grand & important Wats in the entire Angkor Wat...
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1
Angkor Thom - Amazing Stone Faces
For me the whole idea of visiting Cambodia was to see the amazing Angkor Wat! About 3 weeks before I left I bought the Lonely Planet Guide for Cambodia and started reading about Angkor Thom. I'm not a...
2
Under Construction - The Last Angkor City
Other than the famous Angkor Wat, the fortified city of Angkor Thom also beckoned to me. I had to see this place, the last capital of the Khmer Kingdom. The place where the LAST royal priests,...
3
Angkor Thom is a 3 kilometres square fortified place in the middle of the Angkor complex. It has walls (8 meters high) all around, 5 gates with huge human faces in each of their 4 sides, and many...
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Thousand peaceful faces of The King
To protect the people of Khmer after Chams' [Vietnam] invasion, King Jayavarman VII built a new capital called 'Angkor Thom'; The Magnificent or Great City. This place is about 10 square km and...
5
There is more to Angkor Thom than the Bayon, but it is the most spectacular part and since we had limited time -- well Bayon it was! . The Bayon is best known for its many enigmatic faces, but don't...
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