South Gate Angkor Thom

This guide to the South Gate of Angkor Thom in Siem Reap starts at the causeway where fifty-four stone gods and fifty-four demons haul on a giant naga, reenacting the Hindu myth of the churning of the sea of milk. It follows King Jayavarman VII's twelfth-century gate and its four giant faces, then turns to a quieter mystery: why some of the causeway heads are a different shade of gray, cast in cement after the Khmer Rouge years to replace ones that were sawed off and sold. Look closely at where stone meets cement as you cross.