Searching For Khmer Ruins In ThailandPrepared by Harold Stephens
Travel Correspondent for Thai Airways International
The Khmer Empire was like a giant cartwheel. Angkor was the capital of the empire and was the hub. The empire spread out in all directions. Administered by god-kings, like Surayavarman II, Angkor was connected to these outlying reaches of the empire by a system of military highways. These outposts stretched out across Thailand to the Burmese border, and deep into Laos and Vietnam. These outposts included Banteay Srei, Preah Vihear, Wat Phu in distant Laos, and Phanom Rung and Phimai in Siam, or what is Thailand today.
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. Even Angkor itself became lost in time. Although Angkor remains within Cambodia, the bulk of the Khmer past now lies outside of Cambodia, most notably Wat Phu in southern Laos, and a series of magnificent sites strung like beads on a necklace across Thailand's Tung Kula Rong Hai - the "Weeping Plain" of the lower Northeast.
It’s not only these major ruins that dot the maps of this area but countless smaller ones as well. They appear at the most unlikely places. To visit them takes a bit of exploring. The best way is behind the driver’s wheel of your own vehicle, or a rented one, and following a detailed map. There are several excellent guidebooks on the market, including Lonely Planet. Both Avis and Budget car rentals provide maps for their customers.
Thailand has always valued her historic treasures, and has long seen their full potential as tourist attractions. The most important of these sites have been painstakingly and successfully restored by the Department of Fine Arts. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is able to promote a "Khmer Culture Route" in lower Isaan which offers the visitor an unparalleled opportunity to explore the glories of the Khmer past.
The most prominent of these is Phimai, the westernmost 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 northwest.
The complex at Phimai dates originally from the reign of Surayavarman 11, 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 surroundings which 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 eight 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 contrast 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 of 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 lilyfilled 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. Unfortunately it is not advisable to travel to the site. On my last motor trip to the area a few months ago, I was told I could make the drive but turned around and returned to Thailand when I heard gunfire.
A Khmer ruin that I really enjoy is Wat Phu near Pakse in neighboring Laos. Motorists can leave their vehicles at the border and travel by bus to the ruin. But that trip is another story for another time.
Next week we will do some more traveling, to your favorite street caf?s in cities around the world.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q. Dear Mr. Stephens. I hear that this is the rainy season and not a good time to visit Thailand. Can you comment on that? Jenny, Auckland
A. Dear Jenny. Thailand is in the monsoon belt, and there are two monsoons—the northeast and the southwest. They do not blow at the same time. Thus, you can escape the monsoon by traveling to another area. Most people think of the monsoon as rain. It is not rain. It is a wind. Generally, however, the winds bring the rains, but no always. --HS
Harold Stephens
Bangkok
E-mail: ROH Weekly Travel (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. | 
