Besides for its astonishing collection of heads, Angkor Thom’s Bayon temple also contains a marvelous bas-relief depicting scenes from everyday life. I’m sure that someone, somewhere, has an idea of what all these people are doing. Some of them, I can identify. As for the rest, the pictures are charming, but I don’t know. Respond with a comment if you think you have a clue!

Also, please don’t ask me what all those fish and crocodiles and so on are doing up in the sky. Maybe that’s what they get during monsoon season instead of “raining cats and dogs.” Or maybe the bas-relief works its way downwards and there’s some naval scene up above.

   I think the next couple of pictures depict people in houses.

 Now we come to a few that I might identify. A couple of scenes where people are cooking.

  A woman giving birth, perhaps.

Men playing a board game.

And finally, of course, war.