Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat

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The five-tiered retaining front wall of the Terrace provides wonderful carvings of apsara. But make sure you go behind it – there's a little maze, the walls of which are older than the retaining wall and which was probably covered over when the new front was built.

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Terrace of the Leper King is another Angkor Thom enigma. A 7 metre high platform, overlooking the Terrace of Elephants, superbly covered in the most extraordinary carvings, which is believed to have been the royal crematorium.

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Sadly overlooked when it came to the name-game: the majority ignored in favour of the minority. Garudas most definitely outnumber the elephants here, but it was still known as the Terrace of the Elephants.

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The parade ground to end all parade grounds – the Terrace of the Elephants. Some 300 metres long, this was likely to have been the most public spot to view the King during the pomp of official ceremonies. It is believed that wooden structures sat atop the superb carvings and adjoining terrace where the King could observe great parades of power and where his subjects could observe him.

The carvings are wonderful, although interestingly, there are more garudas than there are elephants (see next tip).

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As enigmatic as the Mona Lisa - smiling or not smiling?

The image that is probably second only to the view over the lake of Angkor Wat in terms of association with Angkor. 200 are to be found on the 54 towers representing the 54 provinces of ancient Khmer, looking out across every direction of the kingdom and empire.

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As you ascend those steep, narrow staircases and gloomy corridors, the bas-reliefs of everyday life and victorious battles give way to more courtly, gentle imagery, with dancing courtesans a much more common sight.

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Dancing courtesans as well as regal, statuesque courtesans are featured in the outer walls of the Bayon.

You could easily spend hours checking them all out - and this is before you even get to the main 'highlight'.

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The Bayon is covered with some 120 metres of bas-reliefs incorporating an extraordinary 11,000 figures.

The outer walls of the first level are stunning, providing a record of everyday life (and death) in 12th century Khmer. Battles, prayer, animals, hunting, entertainment all feature and most are in remarkable condition.. (although occasional repairs and over-eager tourists touching the stones have resulted in varied colourings of the stonework).