BURIRAM, DISCOVERING EAST OF THAILAND

In Thailand we begin our adventures in Asia back in 2010 and in Thailand we have returned every time we have had the chance, it loses us! And yet we still have a lot of places to discover. With the aim of crossing out one more on our list we take advantage of the visit of our colleague Soufian to approach the east of thailand. We understood that here are some of the best Khmer temples in the country and there we went!

We made base in the city of Buriram, known lately not so much for its ruins but that the one who peta is its football club, the most successful Thai team of recent years: the Buriram United! The owner must be an entire local institution and has built a stadium for Europeans and has not stopped here, has a race circuit, a shopping center desert moment (you'll see, now ...) and even has made a temple and a park with a huge lingam and with representations of the kamasutra ... I want to meet this guy!

But we did not get here to go to football (I regret it ...), if we approach the region of Buriram it is to visit two of the most important historical parks in the country, at the height of those of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya, we talk about Phanom Rung and something further away from Phimai History Park. Let's go in parts ...

About 70 km from Buriram are the ruins of the sanctuary of Phanom Rung and those of Prasat Muang Tam, separated by a distance of about 5 km.Phanom Rung It is possibly the most important Khmer monument in Thailand, it is a temple built over a thousand years ago on an extinct volcano, a Hindu cult in its beginnings and transformed into a Buddhist temple. To get there you have to walk through a stone corridor, cross a bridge that represents the passage of the earth to the sky and ascend a staircase flanked by beautiful statues of nagas. After crossing some corridors you reach the main sanctuary, a pagoda that symbolizes Mount Kailash in the Himalayas, dedicated to the god Shiva. Check out the lintel of one of the doors in which a relief is shown with the representation of Vishnu lying on a naga, which disappeared for years and was found neither more nor less than in America!

Apparently in April something very curious happens: the position of the temple is aligned with the sun and makes the rays pass through the 15 doors, we will have to go back at that time to check ...

• Hours: from 06:00 to 18:00
• Price: 100 baht, 150 baht if you buy a combined ticket of Phanom Rung + Prasat Muang Tam

If the previous one was the sanctuary and place of pilgrimage,Prasat Muang Tam It would be the urban center of the region. These no less interesting ruins extend in the plain at the foot of the volcano, 5 km from Phanom Rung and connected by a path that used to travel anciently. It was also built between the 10th and 13th centuries and consists of several sanctuaries, corridors, different enclosures and towers with beautiful reliefs on the lintels and ponds full of lotus flowers. Aesthetically he has nothing to envy his older brother, and you will find fewer people visiting him, all are advantages!

• Hours: from 06:00 to 18:00
• Price: 100 baht, 150 baht if you buy a combined ticket of Phanom Rung + Prasat Muang Tam

There must also be another quite impressive complex of Buddhist temples about 20 km from here, the Wat Khao Angkhan, although we do not reach him.

Another of the Khmer temples with great importance in Thailand is thePrasat Phimai (or Phimai History Park). Although somewhat more distant, about 100 km from Buriram, it is worth spending a morning touring it, it is not in vain that the small version of Angkor Wat is considered ... As a curiosity, in the Khmer Empire there was an old road that linked Angkor with Phimai of 225 km and also passing through Phanom Rung, although today the jungle has taken over most of its route and its small ruined temples. It has a main tower 32 meters high (prang) that symbolizes the mythological Mount Meru, the center of the universe and where the gods live for Hinduists, surrounded by corridors and galleries with inscriptions and reliefs.

• Hours: from 07:30 to 18:00
• Price: 100 baht

Phimai was a very important ancient city, so in addition to the sanctuary we can find other minor ruins scattered throughout its territory. Very close to here you can complete the visit in the Sai ngam, the largest banyan tree in the world. The place is certainly intriguing and mysterious, a maze between intertwined fig branches that allow only a few sun rays to pass, a perfect setting to carry out your most heinous crimes (in case you are thinking of any) or to let your imagination fly . Actually it is not just a tree, for hundreds of years it has been germinating and now it is impossible to know which branch belongs to which trunk. Local tradition tells us that among these trees there are female spirits, so try not to wear Ax that day, lest you take a dislike (or a taste, who knows, people have very strange tendencies). And speaking of weirdos, here you can also read the future, although I'm afraid you'll need a translator.

We complete our days in Buriram approaching the Buriram Castle, a new complex where you can find the huge stadium of United that can be visited until 4:00 pm (auch!), a race circuit, a set of shops and restaurants, a temple reminiscent of the beautiful Khmer temples of the area and a park with representations of the kamasutra on its promenade and, apparently, one of the largest lingam in the world ... Long live Buriram!

But not only in the east of Thailand we find wonderful historical ruins, being an area away from the most tourist routes people are much more friendly and willing, only then can you understand that returning from the Buriram United stadium, to about 8 km from the city, it was three policemen who approached us on their three motorcycles ...