Just as in Angkor Wat, in the Bayon the galleries are among the most interesting elements. Contrary to Angkor Wat, however, they show not only heroic and mythical stories but also many scenes from the daily life of the ancient Khmers. The Bayon is entered from the east. Take some time to examine the lovely decoration on the pillars of the Gopura (entry tower). They show Apsaras (heavenly nymphs) dancing on a lotus. There are two sets of galleries, an inner one and an outer one. (The reliefs on the outer gallery are more interesting). Start at the Gopura and walk around in clockwise direction. The reliefs start with a depiction of a military procession, with the king riding an elephant, accompanied by musicians and warriors on horseback. Scenes from everyday life follow. The reliefs in the following, the south gallery, show a historical naval battle on the Tonlé Sap (the Great Lake southwest of Angkor) between the invading Chams, who had sailed their fleet up the Mekong and the Tonlé Sap river into the lake to attack Angkor,  and the Khmers (the Chams are the ones with the hats). The chiseled boats are especially beautiful. Below this, the reliefs show scenes from everyday life - a mother playing with her children, a hunter preparing his bow, fishermen and fishmongers. Then come scenes form life in the palace. In the last section of the gallery the carvings are unfortunately unfinished. The ones in the west gallery are mainly combat scenes but there are also some scenes that show us how the large Khmer temples were constructed - sandstone is cut and polished. In the north gallery the most interesting reliefs show acrobats and jugglers at work. The battle between the Chams and the Khmers is continued - the final relief, when you are back at the east gate, displays the victory of the Khmers and their king, Jayavarman VII.

Climb now to the second level (the stairs are better than in Angkor Wat) and look at the inner galleries. They are divided into rooms and cells and the the topics of the reliefs are dominated by themes from HIndu mythology. The east gallery shows the legend of the Leper King - a king fights against a serpent that spits venom in him. The king falls ill with leprosy. In the final scene, women and ascetics try to heal the king who lies on the ground.

From the third level you can have a closer look at the towers and the stone faces. The central sanctuary (it is circular, which is unusual in Khmer architecture) is also on this level. In Jayavarman VIIth time it held a Buddha image that was removed after his death.

Strangely, Zhou Daguan, our only remaining witness of Angkor Thom when it was still the capital of the Khmer empire, does mention the Bayon, but not the faces. He describes it as "The Golden Tower". It may be that the towers had golden pinnacles that were so slender and intricate the the faces lost their colossal dimensions and did not stand out so much. Their iconography is still debated - some think that they represent the Boddhisatva Avalokiteshvara, others believe that they portray the king himself, to signify his almightyness and omnipresence. Similar faces can be seen above the Gopuras (entry towers) that lead into the city, but this architectural feature is restricted to Angkor Thom (also built by Jayavarman VII) and does not appear outside of it. What speaks against the portrait hypothesis is that the faces, upon closer inspection, are not identical, they differ from one another.