Thailand 2023, part 15 (Prakhon Chai, Phanom Rung)
The day when I transferred from the Khao Yai National Park started with an adventure. A local politician gave me a ride from a small settlement near the park to the first major city, Pak Chong. From there, I travelled by minibus for about an hour and a half to an even larger city, Nakhon Ratchasima, where, at the coach terminal, I switched to a regular coach.
Everything started exceptionally slowly but still normally. After the coach refuelled sufficiently, we exited onto the main road leading eastwards and continued at the usual speed. However, at one point, a soldier sitting at the back of the bus went to the driver and we quickly stopped by a truck service station. The engine had caught fire and the back of the coach started to fill with smoke.
First, I filmed from inside the coach as the driver and a guy from the service station pulled out a hose, while another guy brought a large bucket of water. I realised that I needed to go outside and observe the situation from there.
By the time I did that, the hose had already started working, so the engine began to be generously doused with water.
Once the main part of the fire was extinguished, it was time for the engine to be cooled down because some repairs were needed. The soldier who reported the problem played a significant role in helping with this.
Later, the driver came and began repairing the engine. As is usual, more people were just observing.
While waiting for the coach to be repaired, I started talking to the same girl I had chatted with a bit at the gas station. Later, she asked me if I had Instagram. Of course – I even have two active accounts! That’s how we exchanged contacts and now I know her name is Rita. She even later sent me a photo she took of me while I was getting off the coach. That was very kind and I thank her.
When the coach engine was repaired, we resumed our journey and there were no more adventures. However, it was interesting to see that besides transporting passengers, the coach and its driver also served as a kind of informal postal service. At one stop along the way, a box that had obviously been handed over to the driver earlier was delivered to the recipients.
After some time, we arrived in Prakhon Chai. Although the coach passed near the hotel I had booked, I first had to go to the terminal and from there I walked to the hotel.
I was very lucky here. As it turned out, this was the best hotel I stayed at during my month in Thailand and the price was exceptionally reasonable. Perhaps I stumbled upon a special offer or it was a very low season. Either way, the hotel had a beautiful large decorative pool/pond and the room had a terrace with a fantastic view. It’s just a shame it was too hot, so I preferred spending time in the air-conditioned room rather than on the terrace.
I was quite tired due to a day filled with a lot of movement and adventures or perhaps the main reason was that I was actually quite hungry. In any case, I didn’t linger in the room for long. After taking my things to the room and showering, I first returned to the reception and booked a massage offered within the hotel. Then, I went for a meal. I had “Pad Thai with chicken” (fried noodles with chicken) and it was really good. It struck me as unusual that Thai food, which seems very light, is actually quite filling.
Later, when I returned home, I tried to make my own version of Pad Thai.
PAD THAI WITH CHICKEN
- 100 g dried rice noodles
- 100 g chicken breasts or chicken thighs, cut into small pieces
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 1 clove of garlic, chopped
- 1 egg, mixed like for scrambled eggs
- 100 g thinly sliced cabbage
- 1-2 spring onions, cut into small pieces
- 1 red hot pepper, to taste, sliced
- 2 tbsp of tamarind sauce
- 2 tbsp of brown sugar
- 2 tbsp of fish sauce
- 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
- 30 g of roasted peanuts
Prepare a sauce, by mixing tamarind sauce, sugar, fish sauce and oyster sauce. You can also put in 1 tbsp of peanut butter. Put on the side.
Prepare the noodles in line with the instructions, but they should not be soggy. I usually just pour tepid water of them and keep checking them, until they are just about ready to eat. Then drain them. By this point you should already have the oil hot in the wok.
Put onions and garlic and stir fry briefly. Then add the chicken and continue to stir fry until the meat is almost completely cooked (By the way, I always like to season chicken in advance and not only rely on the final sauce). Push to a side and pour in the egg; do not mix right away, let it get some consistency. When it does, fry the egg and then mix with the meat and onions, adding the shredded cabbage, spring onions and hot pepper. Stir for some 10 seconds and then add the noodles and the sauce. Mix everything together.
Put some cilantro leaves and peanuts over pad thai and serve right away.
After the lunch on the first day in Prakhon Chai, I had time to return to my room, have a coffee and then I went for a massage.
It was my first Thai massage and I really enjoyed it. I had some apprehensions because you can hear various stories and different people have different experiences, but this type of massage was exactly what I needed. I immediately decided to repeat the experience the next day.
When it was over, I sat near the massage room and they brought me tea that really felt right for that point in time. The drink was something between clear soup and tea, but was unexpectedly pleasant.
Then I retreated to my room, exchanged messages with friends, planned the next day a bit and later went down to the reception to see if they could help me. I needed transportation for the next day to visit three temples that are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List and that are located near Prakhon Chai. They were the main reason for my visit to the town.
The hotel offered me a van, but it was quite expensive. Although the amount was not negligible, the bigger issue for me was the fact that I would be unnecessarily paying for the entire van!!! I told them I would “ask around,”, but in reality, I had no idea where to inquire.
And then – Deus ex machina!!!
A Danish guy, Kasper, came to the reception,. He overheard my problem and offered to help because he had been living there for 5-6 years and had his own pub! He even invited me to his pub for a beer, but I told him I was very tired, which was indeed the case. All in all, he arranged transportation for me the next day at a third of the price the hotel had offered. I was very pleased.
But, by the time all of this was resolved, the hotel restaurant had closed and I was a bit peckish. Not too much, but I thought I would really enjoy eating something salty. Anything. Fortunately, luck was on my side again because just 20 meters away there was a convenience store where I bought some ordinary crisps. My plan was to have beer, so I knew that the crisps would work out well.
I retreated to my room and was ready for bed very early, but beforehand I enjoyed for a short while the evening view from my room.
Evening view from my room
In the morning, I woke up quite early, but I had actually slept enough, so it didn’t bother me. I leisurely stretched in the room, had my morning coffee and took photos of a couple of zebra doves (Geopelia striata) that were calm, patient and kind enough to pose for me.
Later, I went for another coffee in the hotel café, just to be sure I would wake up properly, and also to do something with my time.
That godsend Dane from the previous evening, Kasper, told me that his friend would come to pick me up for the tour at 9 AM. She was a bit late, but she arrived with her daughter and grandson. I guess she had no one to leave them with. Her daughter was not even 19 yet and already had a 2.5-year-old child. Of course, she was not married.
Eme, as the very friendly and kind woman was named, didn’t have a stable job, she told me. She unofficially worked as a taxi driver when needed, did fieldwork and also cleaned some houses. That’s how life goes. She was separated from the father of her daughter and, as a single mother of a minor, had to manage.
The Phanom Rung Historical Park is about 20 km away from the city of Prakhon Chai. Together with the Muang Tam and Plai Bat sanctuaries, Phanom Rung is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Potential List.
We started our journey towards Phanom Rung using local roads.
The entire area southwest of Prakhon Chai is practically completely flat, except for a few elevations that can be seen here and there. On top of one of them, which is actually an extinct volcano and the highest hill in the area with a height of about 200 meters, there is the sanctuary of Phanom Rung, the name of which means “great mountain.”
This is one of the most important and spectacular monuments belonging to the Khmer culture in Thailand.
Although archaeologists have determined that this site had been an important place of worship earlier, the original temple was built in the 10th century and, later, some other structures were added, too. In any case, in the 12th century, the main temple was remodelled by the reigning Khmer ruler and dedicated to the gods Shiva and Vishnu. Certain additions were made in the 13th century, but with the fall of the Khmer Empire in the 15th century, the temple was abandoned. In the 20th century, the sanctuary was reconstructed and restored, officially opening as a historical park in 1988.
With Eme and her descendants, I reached a large parking lot and while they stayed there waiting for me, I started to climb slowly up a wide path alongside numerous stalls selling goods for tourists.
The ascent wasn’t too tiring, but I still took occasional breaks. That’s when I spotted a charming butterfly.
The path leads to a spacious area with a couple of terraces and from there, it climbs to a cross-shaped platform offering a splendid view towards the centre of the site. However, I first captured a structure located to the side of that platform, which I planned to visit later.
For now, I wanted to go to the Sanctuary first and in order to do that, I had to walk along the Royal Avenue, all of which is beautifully visible from this platform.
The central part of the site is approached from the eastern side by a 7m wide and 160m long path built in the 12th century. Along the path, low columns are placed topped with symbolised lotus buds, representing lotus flower. I have previously written about the significance of this symbolism in Hinduism and Buddhism, where the lotus is considered a sacred flower in both of these religions.
The avenue leads to a cruciform platform and from there, stairs ascend towards the main temple. In addition to the stairs leading directly to the platform and further to the temple, there are also stairs on the northern and southern sides. These stairs allow ascent from the surrounding lawns onto the platform.
On the platform, also known as the First Level Naga Bridge, the most prominent features are, of course, the Nagas – mythical serpents that appear in both Hinduism and Buddhism.
The bridge, or rather this platform, is made of sandstone and is placed here to symbolise the passage between the world of humans and the world of gods, i.e., the transition between the earthly level and the heavens. It is adorned with balustrades in the form of five-headed Nagas, with a total of 16 of them, positioned in a very regular orientation facing the cardinal points.
In the middle of the bridge, there is an engraved motif of an eight-petal lotus, which is interpreted as a symbolic representation of the universe, purity and good luck.
From the bridge or the platform, the stairs ascend towards the central sanctuary. When I climbed them a bit, I turned back to look at the platform and the Royal Avenue once again.
Upon reaching the top of the stairs, you arrive at a clearing adorned with four smaller, square-shaped pools before entering the temple complex. It is presumed that these pools symbolise the four sacred rivers in Hinduism.
To start with, I approached one of the pools and then I spotted a dragonfly, so I spent a few minutes trying to capture it on camera. It wasn’t easy or particularly successful, but at one point, I did manage to take a reasonably good shot.
And then I turned my attention to the reason I came here.
The smallish temple complex with a square base is surrounded by high walls, on the interior sides of which there used to be temple galleriess. In the middle of each side, there is a monumental portal – a gopura, with the eastern gopura serving as the main entrance to the temple complex. By the way, gopuras are primarily associated with Hindu architecture, but besides being found in India and Sri Lanka, they are also a common element in Khmer architecture.
In front of the eastern doorway, there is another bridge/platform – the Second Level Naga Bridge, which, like the first one, has a cruciform plan. This bridge is characterised by a detail typical of Khmer architecture. Specifically, here, the five-headed Nagas emerge directly from the jaws of a makara, a legendary sea creature considered the guardian of gateways and thresholds. This means they guard both the halls with thrones and the entrances to temples, as is the case here.
Here, too, in the middle of the platform, there is a carved motif of an eight-petal lotus, but it is somewhat smaller and even paler than the previous one. Or perhaps it just appears paler in comparison to the doorway in front of which it may be seen.
On the pediment, you can see Shiva depicted as an ascetic surrounded by female attendants, while below this scene there is a richly decorated lintel.
At this point, I was ready to enter the sanctuary and there, in the centre, there was the Shiva Lingam.