Good Morning Chiangmai News Magazine

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Riverbank Stone invites you to
KHMER AND SEE OUR RUINS!

The Khmers established an empire roughly corresponding to today's Cambodia and Laos. Divided during the 8th century, it was reunited under the rule of Jayavarman II in the early 9th and the capital established at Angkor by King Yasovarman I.

The Angkor period, the golden age of Khmer civilisation, saw the empire at its greatest. It held sway over the valleys of the lower Menam (in present-day Thailand), the lower Mekong (now Cambodia and Vietnam) and north into Laos.

The Khmer civilisation was largely formed by Indian cultural influences. Buddhism flourished side by side with the worship of Shiva and other Hindu gods. The Angkor period attracted many Indian scholars, artists and religious teachers to the Khmer court, and Sanskrit literature flourished.

Architecture and sculpture were the great achievements of the Khmers. Their architecture reached its height with the construction of Angkor Wat around 1150 and Angkor Thom about 1218. Bas-reliefs, lacking in the earliest monuments, came to overshadow statues "in the round". In the later stages of Khmer art, hardly a wall was left bare of bas-reliefs, which conveyed a vivid picture of Khmer life in the richness of their detail and vitality.

There is a group of Khmer ruins which stretches from Buriramto Sisaket province in Thailand and ends with Kao Phra

Viharn across the border in Cambodia - but reachable from Thailand. All of these, with the exception of Phra Viharn, can be visited in a one-day drive.

Night one is best spent in Korat with an early morning start for Phanom Rung, south of Buriram town. Phanom Rung is the largest, most rehabilitated and Thai landscaped of all the sites I'll mention here. The admission fee for foreigners is 30 baht and I imagine you'd would spend 45 minutes to an hour here. There is an adequate explanation in English at this site, which was built on an extinct volcano!

About a 20 minute drive away sits Meuang Tam, a Hindu sanctuary believed to be dated from the 11th century.

While not as extensive as Phanom Rung there are some interesting bas-reliefs here. Prasat Hin Ban Pluang, south of Surin, is next on your agenda. Not much here, but there are some interesting carvings on the single tower.

Continue your trip west to Prasat Phoom Phon. Have to admit, not much here either, but it does date back to the 7th century and is in a pleasant area. Another minor site just around the corner is Prasat Yai Ngao, leaning on its side.

Now it's back north to highway 226 and Prasat Sikhoraphoom. It is comprised of 4 prangs (shrines) on the same base and sits in the middle of a flat field.

The last 2 sites for this day trip are Prasats Kamaeng Yai and Noi (large and small), east of Sisaket. Yai is located in the active Thai wat (temple) and is fairly well restored, while Noi, within a smaller wat, is little more than a tower.

You can now choose whether to spend your night in Sisaket or Ubon. If you plan to visit Khao Phra Viharn, expect to spend a whole day travelling and visiting. So there's an outline of a lovely day trip through lower Isaans' Khmer ruins!

And this month's parting shot?

There is no such thing as "Friendly Fire"!

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Riverbank Stone