This post should have come earlier … to get to Bayon, you have to pass from Angkor Wat into Angkor Tom, the formal capital complex of the Khmer Empire under King Jayavarman VII. Angkor Tom is a walled city which is reached via gates to the north and south, by crossing a bridge which is lined with statues of gods on one side and demons on the other. Each group of figures is holding a seven-headed naga along the length of the bridge. (Unfortunately, most of the statues on both bridges have lost their heads over the years, and the reconstruction effort has been less than perfect.) The gates themselves are similar to the towers one sees at Bayon.
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