Khmer temples in Thailand

The Khmer empire consisted of most of the land of the South East Asian peninsula, roughly 4 times larger than the surface of present day Cambodia. Apart from the central base of power around Angkor, other important regions of power were the Mekong delta, present day Annam and the area that is now called Isan, North East Thailand. Upper Isan was only partially influenced, but lower Isan was firm under control, despite the huge natural barrier formed by the Dangrek mountain range.

With the planning of the trip to visit Khmer temples in Thailand, I decided that my main goal would be the majestic temple of Khao Phra Viharn with other temples a a kind of plan B in case the temple proved to be inaccesible. To obtain maximum flexibility, I decided that the best way to do this is renting a car and go out to explore.

I was limited by time, rain, a visit by my Thai friends and navigation that proved unuseful, but I had excellent company, a fine modern car, tasty food that is always abundant and traffic that was not a bad as I had expected. Drivng yourself in Thailand is very well possible as long as you have full insurance, a Thai in your car, go with the flow of traffic and just take it easy. I never drove in Bangkok, that is just a bridge too far, but in Nakorn Rachasima traffic is already four lanes wide...Drivng yourself means absolute freedom, a bit of modern adventure and most of the time great fun!

Preah Vihaer, or Khao Pra Viharn as the Thai call it, is the absolute crown juwel, this impressive temple is built on the slope and the edge of the Dangrek mountain range in Sisaket province, Thailand, but the temple belongs to Cambodia. When I was in Cambodia prior to visiting Thailand, several people told me that visiting Preah Vihaer was possible but not recommendable in the rainy season. A recently made but still unpaved road, no accomodation, no food, no electricity and the presence of the Cambodian army would make this too adventurous for me. I even got the suggestion of trying to visit the temple from Thailand...The visit I payed to the remote temple site of Koh Ker made clear that their words were very true.

Arriving in Sisaket, the first news was the temple was open, but a day later, at the tourist office, my friend spoke to the army commander at the border, telling that no toursits would be allowed to enter the temple area since this would mean crossing the border. Dissapointment all over, but I concluded that the temple will still be there after some time when relations between Thailand and Cambodia would improve. So...plan B: other temples. I followed highway 226 from Sisaket to Nakorn Rachasima. It turned out to be a pleasant day full of new discoveries.