Ankor Thom

<Before you go on be aware that I only have the thumbnails up here.>

Ankor Thom

Entry Bridge

The South Gate

Bayon's Front Facade

As you approach Angkor Thom from Angkor Wat, you come to this bridge leading up to the South Gate and lined on either side by these guards who are holding this long naga.  The ones on left are 54 gods and 54 demons on the right.  Essentially, the gods are nice and the demons fierce, both are protecting the city. The fierce ones are more damaged than the nice ones are -- go figure.  There are 108 total, excluding the two nagas,  which is an auspicious number in both Buddhism & Hinduism.

You may have noticed the gate at the far end of the bridge in the previous set of pictures.  You also may have noticed that there is no water under the bridge (pictures of dog and boy).  I concentrated on taking detail picture and realize that I don't have an establishing shot.  But, the shear amount of detail in all of the temples here but the gates in particular is astonishing.  There are so many that they disappear into background noise and shadows to slowly emerge as you look at them.

These pictures are from the right-hand side of Bayon as you approach from the South Gate. This is an area that is actively restored.  I was afraid that the late afternoon sun would cast the faces of these figures in shadows, but they came out adequately.