Prasat Phanom Wan

Prasat Phanom Wan (ปราสาทหินพนมวัน) is a Khmer temple ruin located between the more famous and big one in Phimai and the city Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat). It consists of a about 50x50 m big area enclosed by a stone wall, with a single shrine in the middle.

I went there on the return way from Phimai, so this much smaller and less reconstructed site failed to impress me that much after seeing Phimai, but the fact that I was the only one exploring there and the more ruined state also has a lot charm. Since I did a lot of photos in Phimai already, I only did very few there, and only one turned out good enough to show here. But on Wikimedia Commons it has several more from other visitors.

I only came to go there because I bought a book on Khmer sites in Thailand in preparation for the visit to Phimai, and noticed that there a second place which nearly on the way. According to that book, this temple was built between the late 9th and late 11th century, and was used for Shiva worship, and at other times Vishnu worship and finally Buddhism was practiced there. It was rediscovered by the French explorer Henri Mouhot in 1861.

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Mueang Sing

Mueang Sing (เมืองสิงห์) is one of the ten historical parks in Thailand, but even though it is not that far from Bangkok and close to the River Kwai bridge visitied by almost every tourist coming to Thailand, it seems a very quite place. The day we went there I did not see any other tourist, except a group of Thai pathfinders who were camping next to the river.

While some historians identify the site with Srichaiya Singhapura mentioned in a stone inscription praising the Khmer king Jayavarman VII, however the first historical reference to this site dates from the reign of King Rama I at the end of the 18th century. At that time Mueang Sing was a fortified town, located on one of the major routes invading Burmese troops used when invading Siam. It is located near the end of the valley of the Kwae Noi river, thus protecting the way from the Three Pagoda pass to Kanchanaburi. But as it was just a minor town, it was reduced to a subdistrict (Tambon) when the administrative system of Siam was modernized by Prince Damrong.

The site is a Khmer temple complex, contemporary with the world-famous Angkor Wat. The most impressive and best restored building is named monument 1, with the main temple building (prasat) in the middle surrounded by a gallery wall with an entrance (gopura) in each of the four cardinal direction.

Next to it is a second large monument, however only the large foundation is preserved. In the past it also had three towers and a gallery wall, but these haven't been reconstructed.

Not all of the sites within the complex are as impressive as the main one. So called monument 4 is just a few foundation stones visible on the ground. The brochure from the park does not say much about it, but it was probably a religious building as well as a few artifacts were found in it. I did not stop at monument 3, which according to the brochure is just a little bit more than the foundation of a religious site.

In Michael Freeman's Khmer Temples of Thailand and Laos the author gives this temple only one star out of three, while the similar Phimai historical park in Nakhon Ratchasima get the full three stars. One point the author criticizes is the fact that the main monument of Muaeng Sing was reconstructed with too much haste and thus probably does not show the original architecture. Nevertheless I also enjoyed the trip to both sites, Phimai has much more to see but if you're around Kanchanaburi then Mueang Sing is worth a visit as well.

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King Narai's palace in Lopburi

Most tourists who come to Lopburi will only visit the Khmer temple Prang Sam Yot, with the hordes of monkeys stroling around it. That one is of course a place worth visiting if one is not scared of these animals trying to steal almost everything, especially if its something eatable. When going inside the temple one has a very odd view - the monkeys are behind bars, but actually its the monkeys who are in freedom, and the tourists inside the temple are locked away.

The first time I came to Lopburi - then with a guided tour through the country - we even did not leave the bus as our guide was too scared. I have since returned twice to there, once just taking a closer look at that Prang Sam Yot, but since I want to write about the lesser-known places that other historic site close-by will be the topic.

That place is the palace of King Narai the Great, who made Lopburi a second capital after the main capital of Ayutthaya. The palace was built in 1666, and in fact the king stayed there more time than in the real capital. The reign of King Narai is a very interesting part of the Thai history, as it was the time Siam first got into stronger diplomatic relations with the European powers, especially France. There was a French delegation sent to Siam including Count de Forbin, who unsuccessfully tried to convert the King and thus the country to Catholicism. Also very famous was Constantine Phaulkon, a Greek adventurer who became a highly influential counselor of the king. After King Narai died in 1688, the palace was abandoned, the foreign relation were cut off and Phaulkon was sentenced to death by Phetracha, the usurper who became new king then.

The palace was restored in the reign of King Mongkut, including the construction of a new throne hall for his stay in 1856. The building, the Phiman Mongkut Pavilion, later became the first provincial hall of Lopburi. 1924 another pavilion was added, serving as a the Lopburi Museum. This museum is now one of the many branch museums of the National Museum of Thailand. Sadly I haven't visited that museum then, as otherwise we would have to skip the sunflower fields scheduled for the afternoon.

But nevertheless, strolling around within the nicely kept ruins of the palace, and at that time the only visitors within the compound makes it a very worthwhile visit, and a great change from the much busier Prang Sam Yot. The place I liked most was at the old throne hall, where they placed the memorial plate depicting King Narai granting an audience to French ambassadors. As usual with everything related to Thai kings, there are garlands hanged around it, and the picture of the king was covered with gold leaves.

The next time I get a chance to go to Lopburi, the museum is on my list of places to go, and I also want to take a look at the ruins of Phaulkons residence. There are also several old temples within the historic part of the town, so enough to see for at least one more day-trip.

As the reign of King Narai was quite outstanding and the occurrences at his death marked a turning point in the Thai history, many books are published about it, and I own quite a lot of them. Starting from fictional biographies of Phaulkon, the travel reports of Claude de Forbin, and even a small book deviating from the usually quite negative accounts of Phaulkon's activities.

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Khu Bua

Khu Bua (คูบัว) is an ancient town dating back to the Dvaravati times of the 6th to 10th century. It was abandoned in the 10th century, and 4 centuries later the town Ratchaburi was founded nearby.

I used this town as an example in my main blog for the fact that the historical towns (Mueang) were relocated rather easily, with only the few stone-built structures left to decay more slowly. While actually Khu Bua and Ratchaburi were not a simple relocation, the main temple Wat Khlong illustrates beautifully what does remain of such a town after 1000 years.

The main ruins are along Thai highway 3338, the large parking lot cannot be missed. The easiest way to go is to follow highway 3339, which starts near the railway station in the center of Ratchaburi town. Right at the parking lot is also a small museum, which sadly was closed for renovations when I visited. From what I found on the web the artifacts found at Khu Bua are on display in that museum and the National Museum in Ratchaburi. I don't know if any other ruins are as clearly visible as this Wat Khlong, but actually there are a total of 44 sites within the area.

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