Nakon Ratchasima

Nakon Ratchasima also goes by the name Khorat, which wikipedia tells me is a shortened version of its ancient name Angkor Raj. We didn't come to Khorat to see anything in the city itself, but instead to see some of the great ruins nearby, Phimai and Phanom Rung.


Nov 22 - Nov 24

Nakon Ratchasima also goes by the name Khorat, which wikipedia tells me is a shortened version of its ancient name Angkor Raj. We didn't come to Khorat to see anything in the city itself, but instead to see some of the great ruins nearby, Phimai and Phanom Rung.* Khorat did have a night market, which we visited, and we happened by the City Pillar shrine. Each city in Thailand has a City Pillar, where the guardian spirits of the city live. It seems usually to be gold in color and covered with sheer silk wrappings. There's always been someone praying at it when we've walked by - I read that the City Pillar is where you go to pray for children.

From Thailand 2009 - Khorat

*[This is probably a good time to point out that "Ph" in Thai is pronounced more like "P" by itself, not "F" as you might expect. The ruins are "Panom", and "Pimai". A slight aspiration is okay. --Danny]

We'd originally planned to have a rental car here, since the ruins are quite a ways outside of town, but since we didn't, we hired a car+driver (which was as cheap as renting just the car). Somehow this got us a luxury van in which we were able to read and play Gameboy on the way to the ruins. Having a driver made things very efficient, and we were also able to see an additional smaller site, Prasat Muang Tam.

These ruins are both from the Khmer empire, like Angkor Wat in Cambodia (its ancient capital), so they share a lot of Angkor Wat's distinctive features like the tall prangs and the arched hallways.

From Thailand 2009 - Khorat

Two architectural features we saw at these sites also reminded us of other, unrelated, places. Phimai had an entry hall with a number of pillars packed closely together, which we both thought (independently of each other) resembled the Hypostyle halls we'd seen in Egypt. More surprising was the triangular hole above the lintel* at Prasat Muang Tam, which was exactly the same as the way the ancient Myceneans did it.

*[This is called a corbel arch, and (I just read) was used by many ancient cultures. --Danny]

From Prasat Muang Tam		From Mycenae

Both sites were amazing in the detail of the carvings. Almost every surface of the buildings was covered with carvings, even the floors in some cases. Phanom Rung had the most impressive carvings overall, especially the justifiably famous lintel carvings of Vishnu and Shiva. Quite amazing to think that these have survived since around 1150 AD. Phanom Rung was also impressive for the massive staircase and walkway that lead up to the main temple complex.

From Thailand 2009 - Khorat

One evening we went to a restaurant that someone in town had recommended called Vangmatcha. It seemed to be more of a local's date place than a tourist stop (not that many people seemed to be visiting Khorat). In was unusual in that each group got their own hut on the dock of a small lake. The waiters took orders and delivered drinks by scooter, and the food showed up via motorboat. Another point which was really driven home here is how highly regarded the hot dog is in Thailand. Danny ordered a platter of smoked duck, and it came served with hot dogs split and cooked to make them look like some kind of flower.

From Thailand 2009 - Food

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