Cambodian temples NE Thailand

SP - BKK - Buriram - Nang Rong - Khorat - Phimai - BKK - SP. Ought to work out how many kms this was, given I spent 2 days departing and returning to airports!!

Thailand is definitely on the "hot hit list" for 2005. With the advent of cheap air travel here, there's no reason to stay in the steamy atoll at weekends. Thailand is a huge country and provides plenty of scope for short breaks. Here's the lowdown on last weekend's trip to part of the less visited north east region.

Left Singapore still prevaricating about and researching what I intended doing, my nose deep in Lonely Planet Thailand. On the plane I canned the idea of visiting Khao Phra Wihaan (Preah Vihear) an unrestored Khmer temple just over Thailand's border in Cambodia as logistically without flying to Ubon Ratchathani too much time wasted getting even close by public transport from Bangkok. Plan hatched instead to see Phanom Rung and Prasat Muang Tam (both in Buriram Province) - nearest town is Nang Rong and temple of Prasat Hin Phimai and the Phimai National Museum (Phimai District). That was the plan - now for the logistics!!

Managed to get Moi Chit 2 bus terminal written down in Thai script by a nice lady at Tourist Info desk on arrival at BKK airport. An auspicious start as I would just show this to the taxi driver so there'd be no misunderstanding of where we were heading for the first pit stop. Duly passed this over to my beaming taxi driver and gave myself a pat on the back. The driver looked at it and just shrugged. I guess his reading skills weren't too hot - so I resorted to my best Thai to explain I needed to get to Mooooo Chit (I'd got the pronunciation from the guidebook) - and he immediately nodded and off we drove..... I threw the Thai script in the nearest trash can.

Caught aircon bus from Moi Chit 2 to Buriram with onward connection to Nang Rong - only later discovered there's a direct bus to Nang Rong (5-6 hours) which would have been faster. Lonely Planet's intrepid researcher didn't score highly here.... Next time I'll enquire the fastest route at the bus station, especially as my Thai seems to be coming along leaps and bounds with taxi drivers..... why not with bus counter staff?

Had time for a quick hour's recce round Buriram on arrival. Book n' Bed provides good accommodation, all day breakfast, a la carte menu, steak and coffee and motorbike hire and seems well set up (524/13 Jira Rd tel (044) 601671-3). The German sausages looked and smelt good.

If you're going to visit Phanom Rung and Prasat Muang Tam use Nang Rong as a base. Stayed at delightful guesthouse - Honey Inn, superbly run by 2 local English teachers (honey_inn_thai@hotmail.com http://honeyinn.com). Immaculately clean rooms and superb home cooked food, very helpful and friendly. Whiled the evening away with Jason, a Canadian and Pete, a New Zealander - over a few Chang beers. Pete had visited the unrestored temple of Preah Vihear in Cambodia, preferring it to the more pristine, renovated temples here.

Hired a guesthouse motor bike to visit local temples (THB250 for the day inclusive of petrol - but I don't think it included medical insurance)! Highway 24 is busy with many large trucks, so need to keep your wits about you. Less physically taxing and far more time efficient than catching buses, songthaews and then hiring a motorbike driver or hitching/walking to reach the temples - which is the Rough Guide alternative. Honey Inn also arranges luxury/group trip using 4WD vehicle (THB600). Prefer driving around in the sunshine and the freedom of independent travel. Quickly got to grips with gear changing and then wobbled out of the courtyard for a day on the road with my look-alike sperm-head helmet securely strapped on.... There'd be no photos of me taken wearing that!!

Out from 9am until 4pm but I'm a happy wanderer.... plenty of time to take photos, meander the sites and drive around the local countryside. Great sense of freedom being on a motorbike: wind, sun and blue skies all day. Phanom Rung is impressive, although it's very crowded with visiting locals after 10am. At Muang Tam I had the place to myself until 3 monks showed up. Preferred this site - especially the lotus filled ponds. Very photogenic. Nearby is Muang Tam reservoir (510m x 1,090m), a good place to sit and take time out. The surrounding countryside is very flat and the back roads quiet: locals out harvesting and burning the stubble. Both temples have been superbly renovated and are well maintained. Entry fees are THB30/40.

Getting back proved a little tricky as I "detoured" and at first couldn't find anyone to verfiy I was on the right road (signs are all in Thai script). Very few people in this region speak English and it helps if you can recall which village you're staying in!! Back in Nang Rong I took a look around the local night market which is mostly all about food. Had a large Chang beer and watched as food vendors set up their stalls in the dimming light, seemingly amazed to see a female tourist sitting in their midst who was closely watching them!

Returned to Honey Inn to find a karaoke machine in full throttle with the owner's son crooning into the microphone. (I have to say he was very good). Nose back into Lonely Planet to work out how to get to Phimai the following morning. Thought about breaking the trip by travelling to stay in Khorat overnight but decided Honey Inn/Nang Rong was a better option. Passing through Khorat the following day knew I'd made the right decision (unless you're into busy, noisy, traffic choked cities).

Owner kindly offered a lift to the bus station on the back of one of the guesthouse mopeds where I caught local bus to Khorat (about 1 hour) and then a connection to Phimai (about 1.5 hours). Checked into Old Phimai Guesthouse (pretty basic), threw my stuff on the bed and headed out to see Phimai temple and the Museum. Few more tourists in evidence here but town was quiet and easy to navigate around on foot. Again the temple was beautifully maintained (THB40 entry fee). Museum was superb, especially downstairs where there were many original statues and lintels. Also take a look at Museum 2 outside - where more original stonework is housed under a simple corrugated iron roof. It was great to be able to get up so close (and take photographs - although I later discovered this is forbidden). Ask for a museum brochure when you pay the entry fee inside if they don't offer one.

Toured the night market (mostly food) in the evening. Turned around to find an elephant and her baby had snuck up behind me with the mahout and his helper selling sugar cane to feed to them. Gave me quite a fright. Ate at Baiteiy Restaurant on Jomsudasaded Rd (great food and service).

Following day took another look around the town and museum then caught bus back to Khorat with connecting bus to BKK. The driver kindly stopped to drop me off on the main road outside the airport. Saves you going into BKK central then all the way out again. With a few unexpected spare hours used Amari Hotel facilities (hotel opposite the airport over the road bridge) with their special 3 hour check in service. Whiled the time away at the pool and browsing round the excellent bookshop in the hotel's shopping arcade before catching return flight to Singapore.

If you've visited the temples in Cambodia, you'll be impressed to find similar Khmer style sites in Cambodia, although on a smaller scale. Definitely worth the trip over a long weekend. If anyone plans on going and is interested, I bought back the superbly produced locally available brochures for each site/Phimai museum which give the history and descriptions of the sites.