Phanom Rung was built in the C12th AD, by the Khmer Empire. It is in Buriram Province, 60ish miles south of my house. It was on a trail from Angkor Wat in Cambodia, to Phanom Rung and on the Primai in Khorat province. It was built on the rim of an extinct volcano (this whole area is volcanic, the rice fields are littered with boulders shot out of volcanoes). It was built as a religious temple, Hindu/Buddhist, a pathway leads to a Naga Bridge, the 5 headed Naga (snake) is said to have shielded the Buddha, and I believe also brings rain. 52 steps lead up to the main temple building, a pool at either side of the entrance. The building has been restored, rebuilt, one can easily see the stones that were original, the new stones are from a similar rock. It has been restored well. It lets one realise the splendour of the building as it would have been a century ago. A few of the beautiful reliefs above the doors are missing but most are there. As is a lot of the carved rock especially at the front of the building. Temples, smaller buildings and corridors, it is well worth the money 10bht (15p) for a Thai and 40bht (60p) for non-Thai, this is my gripe, farangs as we are called have to pay 4 times the price that Thais pay, usual for all state parks etc. Imagine charging Thai's 4 times the Brit price to go to Alton Towers.
