Bayon Temple

Our first stop was at the fabulous Bayon Temple. Bayon is a large temple within the confines of Angkor Tom, the ancient city of the Khmer Empire of the 9th to 13th Centuries. It's located in the exact center of the ancient city. It was built in the late 12th Century by Jayavarman VII. This is undoubtedly one of the most famous temples of the greater Angkor complex, with roughly 250 faces, all slightly different, but all resembling the aforementioned king.

Unfortunately, our first Angkorian experience was marred by the presence of hundreds of Japanese tourists. It seems that these tourists have little interest in seeing the sights, rather, they spend an absurd amount of money to go, have their picture taken with specific monuments, yet never actually look or appreciate them. Fortunately, this was one of few experiences with our Asian tourist nemeses. Regardless, Bayon was one of my favourite temples at Angkor.

Here are a few of my many, many pictures. Enjoy.