I wouldn’t have known what it was unless I stopped to enquire. It was a Khmer ruin, a western outpost of the Khmer Empire. Who would ever suspect a Khmer ruin this far in the west close to the Myanmar border, but there it was. I also learned from the curator at Muang Singh that there are several more minor ruins in the area, which I put off investigating until another day.
The question that comes to mind is how did all these ruins become forgotten? Angkor Wat in Cambodia, as the capital, thrived between the 10th and 14th centuries AD. But by the mid-19th century, when the frontiers of present-day Indochina were clearly defined by French imperialism, the Khmer Empire had long since disappeared and Cambodia was but a mere fraction of its former size. In time these outposts were forgotten and fell into ruin. Although Angkor Wat remains within Cambodia, the bulk of the Khmer past now lay outside Cambodia.
Thailand has always valued her historic treasures, and has long acknowledged their full potential as tourist attractions. The most important of these sites have been painstakingly and successfully restored by the Department of Fine Arts. As I mentioned, the most prominent of these is Phimai, the northeasternmost site and certainly the best known of them. Phimai can be found at the small town of Phimai, 59 kilometres northeast of Khorat, on a turning off from National Highway 2 to Khon Kaen. In distant times the site was directly linked by road to Angkor. There are clear indications that Phimai was the main religious and administrative centre of the Khmer northeast.
The complex at Phimai dates originally from the reign of Surayavarman II, during the first part of the 12th century. The temple was constructed with white, finely grained sandstone, in the same style as Angkor Wat. Like Angkor, too, Phimai was first dedicated to the cult of Vishnu. The central sanctuary tower and much of the immediate surrounding that survive today date from this early period.
Phimai may be the best-known and most easily accessible Khmer temple site in Northeast Thailand, but Buriram's Prasat Hin Khao Phanom Rung is perhaps better preserved. It is my favourite site. It is easy to reach, just 18 kilometres to the south of Route 24, the main highway between Khorat and Ubon Ratchathani. Phanom Rung is quite interesting, being a mixing of Thai and Khmer. It was constructed between the 10th and 13th centuries, but the greater part of the work was completed in the reign of King Suriyavarman II (1113 -1150 AD), during the period when the architecture of the Kingdom of Angkor reached its apogee.
About 8 kilometres south of Phanom Rung, on the vast plain approaching the Cambodian frontier, stands the old Khmer sanctuary of Prasat Muang Tam. The ruin dates to the late 10th century AD. Surrounded by a high laterite wall, the complex includes magnificent stepped tanks which have been restored and filled with lotus flowers. The mellow sandstone of the sanctuary walls and beautifully carved lintels contrasts with the darker, coarser laterite of the surrounding sanctuary walls.
Surin province is a gem for Khmer ruins. Motorists should follow Route 24 from Ban Ta Ko and proceed east to Amphur Prasat and the junction for Surin, some 25 kilometres to the north. This province is closely linked with neighbouring Cambodia. Fine examples of the areas Khmer past may be found at Prasat Ban Pluang, near the road junction at Prasat, as well as at Prasat Sikhoraphum, 32 kilometres beyond Surin on Route 2077 to Sisaket.
Both sites have been beautifully restored. Ban Pluang, which dates from the second half of the 11th century and was once an important stop on the road between Angkor and Phimai, is a square sandstone tower built on a laterite platform. The surrounding moats and ponds have been turned into an attractive garden to very pleasing effect. By contrast Sikhoraphum, which has also been carefully restored, consists of five brick prangs on a square laterite platform surrounded by lily-filled ponds. The lintel and pillars of the central prang are beautifully carved with heavenly dancing girls, or aspires, and other scenes from Hindu mythology.
Finally, further along Route 2077 we come to the heavy laterite sanctuary of Prasat Kamphaeng Yai. And beyond that is magnificent Preah Vihear (known to the Thais as Khao Phra Viharn) just across the Cambodian border from Ubon Ratchathani. Until recently it was not advisable to travel to the site but that has changed in the last few years. Thailand and Cambodia have reached some sort of peace agreement following the death of Pol Pot and the banishment of the Khmer Rouge from its nearby Anglong Veng Base. Preah Vihear is now open for visitors with authorized entrance from Thailand. What’s amazing is that the ruin is almost inaccessible from Cambodia, unless, of course, one has the funds to charter a helicopter.
Thailand has done a marvelous job in developing the area. A tarmac paved road leads right up to the border, and here one can park. From here visitors must hike along a dusty trail to the ruin. One may tour only the immediate surroundings of the complex, as there are still plenty of land mines and live ordnance in the fields and forests nearby. One can’t forget the site was the scene of heaving fighting as recently as May 1998 and the Khmer Rouge in defending this strategic location against government forces used numerous land mines.
The site is truly impressive. It actually sits atop a 600-metre cliff, an escarpment, and commands a dramatic view of the Cambodian plains to the east, and both Laos and Thailand in the other direction. The hill itself was sacred to Khmer Hindus for at least 500 years before the completion of the temple complex that has been only semi-restored.
A Khmer ruin that I really enjoy is Wat Phu near Pakse in neighboring Laos. Motorists can leave their vehicles at the Lao/Thai border and travel by bus to the ruin. But that trip is another story for another time.
Next week for our weekly travel feature I will cover a topic that many travellers are skeptical about—driving in Thailand. I hope that I can dispel the idea that it is dangerous and unsafe. On the contrary, driving in Thailand is probably even safer than driving at home. After reading a few hints for driving, and the advantages of getting behind the driver’s wheel, you may well change your mind.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Please send your questions and I will do my best to find the answers to them.
Q. Dear Harold Stephens. We are planning to be in Bangkok the first week of December. Do you know if the Royal Barges are planning to sail on December 5 in celebration of the King's Birthday? If so, would you know the schedule? Thank you. Dr. Donald Christensen, Virginia Beach, Virginia.
A. Dear Dr. Christensen. It’s a pity you were not in Bangkok for the APEC meeting when the heads of state for all the APEC countries had a grand Royal Barge Procession staged for them early in the month with something like 50 boats and over 2,000 oarsmen. It was unbelievable. It is still uncertain whether there will be another procession for the King’s birthday, but it’s very unlikely. There are many boat races in Thailand in December, however. They take place all around the country.
Harold Stephens
Bangkok
e-mail: booking@inet.co.th
Note: The article is the personal view of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the view of Thai Airways International Public Company Limited.
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