Why go to Cambodia's Angkor Wat when you have an Angkor in Thailand? The little town of Phimai is famous for its Khmer temples and ought to be the historical model for the Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Prasat Phimai was originally built in the l l th century after a large
part of the Buddhist Kingdom of Dhvaravadi was conquered and became the
domain of the Khmer Empire. So I took the local bus from Korat or
Nakhon Ratchasima as it is called originally to check it out on my way north from the national park. Phimai is a cute little Thai town where not many western tourists have been seen so far as it seems. I somehow became an attraction myself with lots of chats and pictures with me in front of the temple ruins. Again I figured out that as farther you get away from the tourist routes the friendlier the people and greater the experience gets. I start to really like the northeast and think it was the best decision to come up here.
I was stunned by the temple ruins and besides the many nice chats with the visiting Thai tourists I just sat there a couple of times staring at the spectacular sight in front of me. I spent a good amount of quality time there before I spread out to explore the little town to find something to eat. I discovered it wasn't that easy. I searched the local market and saw many interesting things I have never seen before. They offered almost everything from duck heads, frogs, snakes and all sorts of fish. Let me tell you after seeing how meat is sold here you will always have that image on your mind when you order fish or meat at a restaurant...I friendly refused a couple of offers to buy things with a smile and finally found a stand with Pad Thai. Nothing can go wrong with noodles, veggies and chicken cooked alltogether spicy, with nuts and a touch of sweetness. And here we go: For 10 Baht I had the best Pad Thai dish so far, enjoying it on a park bench in the middle of the town. I was still kind of hungry after being on busses all day long. So where is the place that saves you always as a westerner when you are feeling lonely and disoriented longing for something you can hold on to?
Right, 7 Eleven! Every little town here has one, they even had one next to my lodge at the national park. They have everything you can dream of, from Coke to Hot Dogs, Chips (actually in weird flavors like lobster, shrimp and seagrass) and all the other stuff for all life situations you miss when you are here :-). So I bought some cheese crackers and chips which turned out to be my afternoon snack and dinner in my hotel room. I also by my batteries there and I don't know if it is my old camera that I took on this trip that is giving up on me, or it is the batteries for 50 Baht, that don't have the power to operate my camera but I need lots of them...
Anyways my biggest concern was getting out of Phimai again the next morning with nobody speaking engflish around here. I finally ended up with talking to someone a hotel employee knew on the phone and he told the guys that I wanted to go north. So they wrote me a little note in Thai, that rescued me from staying in Phimai the rest of my life. A Songthaew took me to the highway where I could get a bus to Khon Kaen, from there to Udon Thani and after changing again I finally made it to the Mekong and the little border town of Nong Khai, where I want to relax for two days, before I head west along the Mekong...
Why go to Cambodia's Angkor Wat when you have an Angkor in Thailand? The little town of Phimai is famous for its Khmer temples and ought to be the historical model for the Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Prasat Phimai was originally built in the l l th century after a large
part of the Buddhist Kingdom of Dhvaravadi was conquered and became the
domain of the Khmer Empire. So I took the local bus from Korat or Nakhon Ratchasima as it is called originally to check it out on my way north from the national park. Phimai is a cute little Thai town where not many western tourists have been seen so far as it seems. I somehow became an attraction myself with lots of chats and pictures with me in front of the temple ruins. Again I figured out that as farther you get away from the tourist routes the friendlier the people and greater the experience gets. I start to really like the northeast and think it was the best decision to come up here.
I was stunned by the temple ruins and besides the many nice chats with the visiting Thai tourists I just sat there a couple of times staring at the spectacular sight in front of me. I spent a good amount of quality time there before I spread out to explore the little town to find something to eat. I discovered it wasn't that easy. I searched the local market and saw many interesting things I have never seen before. They offered almost everything from duck heads, frogs, snakes and all sorts of fish. Let me tell you after seeing how meat is sold here you will always have that image on your mind when you order fish or meat at a restaurant...I friendly refused a couple of offers to buy things with a smile and finally found a stand with Pad Thai. Nothing can go wrong with noodles, veggies and chicken cooked alltogether spicy, with nuts and a touch of sweetness. And here we go: For 10 Baht I had the best Pad Thai dish so far, enjoying it on a park bench in the middle of the town. I was still kind of hungry after being on busses all day long. So where is the place that saves you always as a westerner when you are feeling lonely and disoriented longing for something you can hold on to? 
Right, 7 Eleven! Every little town here has one, they even had one next to my lodge at the national park. They have everything you can dream of, from Coke to Hot Dogs, Chips (actually in weird flavors like lobster, shrimp and seagrass) and all the other stuff for all life situations you miss when you are here :-). So I bought some cheese crackers and chips which turned out to be my afternoon snack and dinner in my hotel room. I also by my batteries there and I don't know if it is my old camera that I took on this trip that is giving up on me, or it is the batteries for 50 Baht, that don't have the power to operate my camera but I need lots of them...
Anyways my biggest concern was getting out of Phimai again the next morning with nobody speaking engflish around here. I finally ended up with talking to someone a hotel employee knew on the phone and he told the guys that I wanted to go north. So they wrote me a little note in Thai, that rescued me from staying in Phimai the rest of my life. A Songthaew took me to the highway where I could get a bus to Khon Kaen, from there to Udon Thani and after changing again I finally made it to the Mekong and the little border town of Nong Khai, where I want to relax for two days, before I head west along the Mekong...