Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
wealth of knowledge about the area, also provides bikes, rents motorcycles (200B
per day) and leads tours.
CABBAGES & CONDOMS $$
( 0 4465 7145; Hwy 24; r 240-1500B; )
The cheapest (shared bathroom)
rooms at this Population & Community Development Association-run resort, set in
a garden and ringed by several little lakes, are pretty limp. But move up the price
scale (where you get large rooms with stone floors) and this is a pleasant place to
stay. It's 6.5km west of town.
Hotel
Getting There & Away
Nang Rong's
bus terminal
(
0 4463 1517)
is on the west side of town.
Phanom Rung Historical Park
Phanom Rung
(Phnom Rung; 0 4478 2715; admission 100B, bike/motorcycle/car
fee 10/20/50B; 6am-6pm)
, the largest and best restored Khmer monument in
Thailand, has a knock-me-dead location. Crowning the summit of an extinct volcano
(the name is derived from the Khmer words for 'big mountain'), this sanctuary sits
200m above the paddy fields, and the Dangrek Mountains on the Cambodian bor-
der are clearly visible to the southeast.
The temple was erected between the 10th and 13th centuries, the bulk of it dur-
ing the reign of King Suriyavarman II (r AD 1113-50), which was the apex of Angkor
architecture. The complex faces east and four times a year the sun shines through
all 15 sanctuary doorways.
One of the most remarkable aspects of Phanom Rung is the
promenade
leading
to the main gate. It's the best surviving example in Thailand. It begins on a slope
400m east of the main tower with three earthen
terraces
. The promenade ends at
the first and largest of three
naga bridges
. The first is flanked by 16 five-headed
naga
in the classic Angkor style.
The central
Ъrah·sàht
has a gallery on each of its four sides and the entrance to
each gallery is itself a smaller version of the main tower.
A 150B combo ticket allows entry to both Phanom Rung and Muang Tam.
