R. Doug Wicker — Author

Our next, and final, stop on this busy, busy day was Bayon, a Theravada Buddhist Temple dating back to the late 12th century. It was the state temple of the man considered the greatest Cambodian king — Jayavarman VII — who ruled the Khmer Empire from 1181 until his death sometime around 1218/1219. He is the same ruler responsible for the subject of last week’s series on Ta Prohm (that series begins here: Cambodia — Arriving to Ta Prohm Temple). As for Bayon, it marked the center of the last great capital of the Khmer Empire, Angkor Thom (which translates to “Great City”). This week’s series will show you the wonders of Bayon, as well as finish up the series on Cambodia and the Siem Reap area. Next week I will introduce you to Bangkok, Thailand, which was our next destination.

Before our guide released our group to explore, he had some words of caution for us. Stay away from the monkeys! Bayon is teaming with thieving hordes of long-tailed macaques. These little guys are famous for stealing items from tourists and holding them ransom for food offerings. But beware. This proposed swap may end badly, as the macaque are considered dangerous. They will bite, and they’ve been known to swarm lone tourists if they believe the tourist to be an easy mark. The macaque is also a carrier of dangerous diseases, such as the often fatal to humans Herpes B virus.

Once we were released with an agreed upon time and place to meet, Ursula and I headed over to Bayon to begin exploring. One of the outstanding features of Bayon are its numerous “face towers,” upon which 37 of the original 49 remain. On these towers are carvings numbering between two and four faces. And although there is no definitive count, the faces are said to number around 200.

There are at least a couple of theories as to whose face is depicted in these carvings — the Bodhisattva (“the enlighted” in Buddhism) Avalokiteśvara, Jayavarman VII, or a stylized combination of the two. And while these face carvings are a predominant feature here, there are other bas reliefs as well. Here is a depiction of Apsara, nymph-like celestial dancers that feature prominently in both Hindu and Buddhist lore:

In Wednesday’s article I will take you inside Bayon, but for today I leave you with the exterior shots presented below. As you can see, Bayon was undergoing restoration and preservation efforts during this 6 November 2025 visit:

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