The Bayon-style Prang Ku Chaiyaphum (ปรางค์กู่ ชัยภูมิ) is the most complete Khmer ruin in the province, and a major point of pride for the capital city. It decorates the street signs, the festival honoring it lasts three days, and it’s the city’s main (essentially only) tourist attraction. It was built by King Jayavarman VII (r. 1182-1219) as a Mahayana Buddhist temple for one of the 102 arogayasala (hospitals) that he… Read More
No original structures from Ku Ban Nong Ranya (กู่บ้านหนองร้านหญ้า) remain, but in 2017 locals took the old blocks (mostly laterite, but a few sandstone) that had been scattered around the area and stacked them up into four short walls on a concrete base. It’s not a restoration, but it was done in spirit of a Khmer sanctuary. The interior of this shrine holds a Buddha image and a local goddess… Read More
There are no ancient structures left at Non Thaen Phra (โนนแท่นพระ) anymore, just a few dozen scattered blocks, mostly laterite, laying around in the dirt plus a few sandstone carvings; and you probably can’t see the later. In or around 1914 a hunter chasing a deer found a Buddha image in the forest here. Later locals uncovered many more ancient artifacts, such as statues, pedestals, pottery, stone grinders, and a… Read More
Prang Ku Ban Nong Faek (ปรางค์กู่บ้านหนองแฝก) was built by King Jayavarman VII (r. 1182-1219) as a Mahayana Buddhist temple for one of the 102 hospitals (arogayasala) he opened across the empire. All of the structures – the main sanctuary, gopura, bannalai, and enclosure – are built of laterite, with only door and window frames being of sandstone. While none of the structures are complete and the tower is gone, after… Read More
Ku Daeng (กู่แดง) is a single brick prang with a rather unusual design: it’s cross-shaped with open doorways on all four sides and has a nearly three-meter tall base. The prang collapsed completely, but the laterite base, with stairs on all four sides and deeply redented corners, survived mostly intact. The base’s modern modification is that locals filled in the eastern steps to make a solid wall as a spot… Read More
Prasat Ban Tan (ปราสาทบ้านตาล) is a completely collapsed single tower built of sandstone, probably on a laterite base. Its history is unknown, but it could be from the 11th-century, the same time as Phimai. Although it had fallen down on its own, locals say that its current state of total ruin is due to looters pulling down what still stood when they were looking for valuables. One of the things… Read More
Sop Namman (สบน้ำมัน) sits under a giant mango tree far from any village or paved road and it’s the small adventure required to get there, rather than what you find that makes a visit fun. Judging by the large (1.3 x 1.3 meters square) yoni still there, it could have been a fairly large sanctuary. But, other than this, all that remains are 33 scattered sandstone blocks. Nothing is known… Read More
In Thailand there are many Khmer ruins inside villages, but Ku Ban Hua Sa (กู่บ้านหัวสระ) is the first I have visited that is literally in someone’s backyard. Although rather than an actual ruin, it’s just a gathering of various sandstone and laterite blocks, some for building walls and others carved for decorative trim. A few carvings in better condition were removed by the Fine Arts Department for safe keeping. A… Read More
Wat Boon (วัดบูรณ์) is known locally for its old (possibly Lan Chang era) brick stupa, which is now covered by a modern one. But, before the Lao came there was a Khmer temple of unknown era and design on this site.
Prang Ku Kaeng Sanam Nang (ปรางค์กู่แก้งสนามนาง) was, and kind of still is, a single laterite tower of unknown age. The original temple toppled completely and there was no attempt at reconstruction. What stands now are laterite and sandstone blocks stacked to make three walls for a Buddha image shrine. It’s now open to the north, but the original almost certainly would have faced east, and there’s a doorway to the… Read More
Thai Name – Lueang Breedeeyatawn (เหลืองปรีดียาธร) Scientific Name – Tabebuia aurea (some organizations use Tabebuia caraiba or Tabebuia argentea) Family Name – Bignoniaceae Other English Names – Caribbean trumpet tree Flowering Season – February-April Native to Thailand – No Typical Height – 3-8 meters When a silver trumpet tree is in full bloom the yellow flowers can entirely cover the tree’s crown. From a distance it can look like a… Read More
Thai Name – Man daeng (หมันแดง) Scientific Name – Cordia sebestena Family Name – Boraginaceae Other English Names – Scarlet Cordia Flowering Season – Year-round, but most abundant March-May Native to Thailand – No Typical Height – 6-9 meters Geiger trees have vivid orange five-centimeter-wide flowers that grow in clusters at the ends of branches. From a distance these clusters look like giant orange balls and give the trees a… Read More
Thai Name – Pip (ปีบ), Gasalawng (กาสะลอง) Scientific Name – Millingtonia hortensis Family Name – Bignoniaceae Other English Names – Tree jasmine Flowering Season – September-May Native to Thailand – Yes Typical Height – 10-20 meters The Indian cork tree is a tall, typically rather narrow tree with distinctive long (5-10cm) white fragrant flowers that bloom straight out and then later hang down. At a quick glance the flowers appear… Read More
Thai Name – Intanin Nam (อินทนิลน้ำ) Scientific Name – Lagerstroemia speciosa Family Name – Lythraceae Other English Names – Crepe Myrtle, Rose of India Flowering Season – March-May Native to Thailand –Yes Typical Height – 10-20 meters A very common street-side ornamental tree in Thailand, the Pride of India is unmistakable when it’s flowering. It has long (up to 40cm) pointy flower clusters ranging purple to pink; in Thailand they’re frequently… Read More
Thai Name – Jamjuri (จามจุรี) Scientific Name – Albizia saman (some organizations continue to use the former Samanea saman) Family Name – Fabaceae (Leguminosae) Other English Names – Monkey Pod Flowering Season – February-May and September-November Native to Thailand – No Typical Height – 15-30 meters Rain trees are very common in Thailand and are easily identified by their wide umbrella-shaped crowns supported by massive branches. Their unique flowers look… Read More
While Wat Nong Wang is Khon Kaen’s largest and most interesting temple, and the city’s only must-see attraction, Wat That (วัดธาตุ) at the other end of Bueng Kaen Nakhon lake is also worth visiting. Its soaring stupa and ubosot, which make a beautiful backdrop to views from across the lake, are frequently described by travel writers as classic Isan/Lao design, but both are actually Central Thai style. Wat That was… Read More
Thai Name – Ratchaphruek (ราชพฤกษ์), Khuen (คูน) Scientific Name – Cassia fistula Family Name – Fabaceae (Leguminosae) Flowering Season – March-May Native to Thailand – Yes Typical Height – 8-12 meters The golden shower tree is one of the most popular decorative trees in Thailand due to its massive hanging flower clusters that grow 30-50cm long and up to 7cm wide. At peak bloom you can barely see any green… Read More
The largest of the three Khmer-era temples still standing at Sukhothai, Wat Phra Phai Luang (วัดพระพายหลวง) lies north of the old city walls, about 700 meters east of Wat Si Chum’s iconic giant Buddha image. It was built in the early 13th century by King Jayavarman VII (r. 1182-1219) and this area appears to have been at the core of the Khmer city; it would have remained so for the… Read More
San Ta Pha Daeng (ศาลตาผาแดง) is the oldest and smallest of the three surviving Khmer temples at Sukhothai Historical Park (the others are Wat Si Sawai and Wat Phra Phai Luang); and thus the overall oldest monument there. It is Bayon/Lopburi-style and probably dates from the late 12th or early 13th century as a project of King Jayavarman VII (r. 1182-1219). Some sources date it to the reign of Suryavarman… Read More
Wat Si Sawai (วัดศรีสวาย), located within the old city walls about 200m southwest of Wat Mahathat, is one of the most visited ruins at Sukhothai Historical Park. At its core is a main sanctuary with three prang towers built by the Khmer in the late 12th or early 13th century. Despite this being the reign of Jayavarman VII (r. 1182-1219), a devout Buddhist, it appears that it served as a… Read More