Temples of Angkor - Angkor Thom (Siem Reap, Cambodia)

After visiting Ankgor Wat, I headed immediately to Angkor Thom. The walls of the fortified city of Angkor Thom stretch more than 12km and are 6m high and 8m wide every step of the way. Angkor Thom was built by Angkor's greatest king, Jayavarman VII (1181-1219). The important mouments here are Bayon, Baphoun, Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King. At Bayon, there are 37 standing towers with 216 gargantuan faces watching over the temple - hopefully you can make these out in the pictures above. Who the faces represents a matter of debate but they may be Loksvara, Mahayana Buddhism's compassionate Bodhisattva or perhaps a combo of Buddha and Jayavarman. Bayon also contains 1200m of bas-reliefs incorporating a staggering 11,000 figures.