Bayon: Many Faces of Lokesvara As you can imagine, Southeast Asia is more than just sunshine, weather can be extreme in the rainy season. This photograph was taken about two hours after a spectacular sunrise, you can see the rain approaching from the jungle and it hit us soon after. We made it back to our TukTuk in time to avoid a short but very sharp shower. Luckily for us the main storm came that evening. Around 200 of these faces adorn the temple of Bayon, thought to be Lokesvara- the buddhist bodhisattva symbolising compassion, each of them faces a point on the compass, either North, South, East or West. Built somewhere between the late 12th and early 13th century by King Jayaverman the 7th, this was designed to be the Jewel in the crown of the Khmer empire. Some believe the faces to be a likeness of the King himself, there are clear similarities between his face and the face on the towers. The temple was later used by Hindu monks and altered from the original design to suit their religious needs. The temple was cleared and restoration began in the early 1900's. Today it is a must see on the tourist trail. #nikon #d610 #photography #angkor #angkorwat #Angkorthom #angkorwat #sunrise #bayon #temple #hindu #buddhist #buddhism #hinduism #travel #travels #onelife #visitcambodia #visitsiemreap #cambodia #siemreap #wanderlust #Cambodge #southeastasia #asia #keithyboysphotos #travelgram #siemreap #visitangkor #exploreangkor #exploreangkorwat #unesco (at Bayon)
