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| Prasat Phanom
Rung |
| Buri
Ram, or "City of Happiness", is a tranquil town
about 410 km from Bangkok, easily reached by road or by
train. Buri Ram Province is little visited at present,
and its many historical sites are probably one of Thailand's
best kept secrets. The province, which was an important
district of the Khmer empire during the Angkor period,
is littered with Khmer ruins. Many of these are little
more than a pile of stones in a field, but there are three
of four very well preserved Khmer temples. |
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| 40
km south of Buri Ram is Prasat
Phanom Rung,
a majestic Khmer temple situated atop an extinct volcano.
The complex houses an extraordinary collection of Khmer
sculpture, including intricate lintels glorifying the
Hindu deity Shiva and three Naga bridges which are the
only examples of their kind in Thailand. |
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| Muang
Tam, or "The Lower City", is located
8 km from Phanom Rung and offers an earlier example of
Khmer temple architecture. Its main features are five
brick pagodas surrounded by laterite-sided ponds with
a five-headed naga at each corner. |
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