BURI RAM

Buri Ram, or "City of Happiness", is a tranquil town about 410 km from Bangkok, easily reached by road or by train. Buri Ram Province is little visited at present, and its many historical sites are probably one of Thailand's best kept secrets. The province, which was an important district of the Khmer empire during the Angkor period, is littered with Khmer ruins. Many of these are little more than a pile of stones in a field, but there are three of four very well preserved Khmer temples.

40 km south of Buri Ram is Prasat Phanom Rung, a majestic Khmer temple situated atop an extinct volcano. The complex houses an extraordinary collection of Khmer sculpture, including intricate lintels glorifying the Hindu deity Shiva and three Naga bridges which are the only examples of their kind in Thailand.

Muang Tam, or "The Lower City", is located 8 km from Phanom Rung and offers an earlier example of Khmer temple architecture. Its main features are five brick pagodas surrounded by laterite-sided ponds with a five-headed naga at each corner.