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Thailand - Surin and Prasat Khao Phra Wihan NPJan 31, 2006
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Glass Bottle Temple
Oldest Bas relief in Thailand
Prasat Khao Pra Wihan
| Surin didn't really have much to say for itself, it's more lively come November when they have their annual elephant roundup, but it suited as a base for visiting some ruins. We did come across some deep fried insects at the night market but unfortunately we had already eaten by then and were just too full to try them. The infamous local tour guide Pirom was busy so couldn't take us on our tour but arranged for a car and a driver instead. We stopped en route at a Buddhist temple made entirely of glass bottles, everything from doors, walls, windows and fences to the water tank. The main ruins we had come to see were Prasat Khao Phra Wihan which are actually just across the border into Cambodia but are easier to visit from Thailand since there are roads on that side. Needless to say the access road is now in a 'National Park' area in Thailand so you have to pay them $5 and then the Cambodians $5 to get into the ruins. The temple complex is one of the regions great Angkor-period monuments straddling a 600m high cliff, accessed by a series of stepped approaches. We managed to hit this in the midday sun so the trip up was pretty tough going. The complex has been semi restored and not in as bad a condition as you might think considering it was occupied by Khmer Rouge until Pol Pots death in 1998 and up until that point was the location of much heavy fighting. Landmines and artillery pieces still litter the place and you have to stay on the worn paths for safety's sake. The positioning of this complex is very impressive, towering over the planes of Cambodia offering an altogether beautiful and atmospheric location. |
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