Darkness Comes - To the Bayon Before Dark [ GX7 ]

Two of the huge stone faces at the Bayon, Angkor Thom, Cambodia.




The first day I went to the Bayon (central temple of Angkor Thom, just north of Siem Reap in Cambodia) something stirred in me that I didn't know existed. The intricate, maze-like subterranean tunnels, the massive central cathedral, the towers jutting out at each corner, and more than anything else, the mysterious stone faces called to me.




That night I woke at 4 in the morning, after having a long, freeform dream about the Bayon. It was very vivid and real, and very serene. The next morning I was supposed to meet the driver I'd hired to take me to a traditional farming village miles away, but I knew that plan had to change. So I decided I wanted to spend the whole day in Angkor Thom, really see it.




So I did, and it was fantastic. I went to all the major ruins, the Bapuon (a massive collapsed pyramid temple), Phimeanakas (a still standing pyramid), the Leper King Terrace, and several smaller towers and temples you can only reach by walking through the wooded expanse of Angkor Thom.




After the day was mostly done, around 5:30pm I went back to the Bayon and the stone faces, and these pictures are all ones I took that evening. At first there was an American tour group of about 15 people plus a few other random stragglers, but within 15 minutes the place was completely deserted, so I had the Bayon all to myself.




I have been to Stonehenge and the Sistene Chapel, two places where I felt something. At Stonehenge I could feel an almost electric energy. At the Sistene Chapel, pure tranquility among the throngs of tourists, but at the Bayon I felt something beyond the other two, beyond anything felt at the 2000 year old ruins of Rome or the ancient temples in Japan.




Voices from the past call out. But to say what?




It is quite something to be in a ruins this big all by yourself as the light dims.




If I had more time I would love to stay the night. What dreams would you have in a place like this? But the light was dying, my driver was waiting (for about an hour longer than I'd paid for), and I had an early flight the next morning.

***

This ends my travelog about the trip I took to Angkor Wat and the surrounding ruins. To see my past posts, I recommend you start from the beginning and work your way forward. Start with part 1: The Crumbling Walls of Beng Mealea. Then view Mini Temple and Mountain, followed by The Jungle Temple Ta Prohm and Ascending the Temple (Angkor Wat). And finally you have my first visit to the Bayon: Under the Watchful Eyes of Gods.

I used the Panasonic micro four thirds GX7 to take all of the pictures on my trip. It proved to be a lightweight camera more than capable of taking great images, and considering the insane humidity and heat, a durable camera as well. This post I used three lenses: the Panasonic 20mm F1.7 II and 14mm F2.5 fixed lenses, plus the 45-150mm F4-5.6 zoom for closeups of the faces. To see more pictures, click on any of the images in this post, or head to my Flickr Photostream.