Northeastern Thailand - Thailand - page 863

The residents of Ban Buthom (14km east of Surin on Rte 226 on the way to Sikhoraphum)
weave sturdy, rattan baskets, including some flat ones that pack well.
WORTH A TRIP
BAN THA SAWANG
Chansoma ( 8am-5pm) has made Ban Tha Sawang one of the most renowned silk villages in Thailand. Its
exquisite brocade fabrics (pâh yók torng) incorporate threads made of real gold and silver, but the weaving pro-
cess is even more impressive than the finished cloth. Four women, including one sitting a floor below the others,
work the loom simultaneously and collectively manage over 1000 heddles. Not surprisingly, they produce just a
few centimetres per day. Many of the finished products are destined for the royal court, but you can custom order
your own at an average price of 30,000B per metre. Other shops around Chansoma sell typical silks to a steady
stream of Thai visitors. The village is 8km west of Surin via Rte 4026. Sŏrng·tăa·ou (15B, 20 minutes) run regu-
larly from the north side of Surin's fresh market (don't wait for a return vehicle in the village, walk out to the
main road), and a túk-túk should cost about 200B.
Prasat Ta Meuan
The most atmospheric of Surin's Khmer ruins is a series of three sites known collectively
as Prasat Ta Meuan ( dawn-dusk) in the forest on the Cambodian border. They line the
ancient route linking Angkor Wat to Phimai and this is where the road crossed the Don-
grek Mountains.
The first site, Prasat Ta Meuan proper, was built in the Jayavarman VII period (AD
1181-1210) as a rest stop for pilgrims. It's a fairly small monument with a two-door, five-
window sanctuary constructed completely of laterite blocks; one sandstone lintel, of a
meditating Buddha, remains.
Just 300m south, Prasat Ta Meuan Toht , which was the chapel for a 'healing station', is a
bit larger. Also built by Jayavarman VII, the ruins consist of a gopura, mon·dòp and main
prang, all surrounded by a laterite wall.
Nearly 1km further on, next to the army base at the end of the road, is the largest site,
Prasat Ta Meuan Thom . This Shiva shrine, built around a natural rock linga, pre-dates the oth-
ers by as much as two centuries. Despite a somewhat haphazard reconstruction (and major
damage from the years in the 1980s when it was occupied by the Khmer Rouge), this one
justifies the effort it takes to get here. Three prang and a large hall are built of sandstone
blocks on a laterite base and several smaller buildings still stand inside the boundary wall.