Phimai Attractions
Phimai
The town of Phimai, located 270 km (168 mi.) north-east of Bangkok on the almost bare Khorat Plateau, was founded by the Khmers. The shrine is the largest and, without doubt, best preserved example in this area of Khmer art in Thailand. It was built only a few years after the important temple sites of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Phimai's temple site is certainly considerably smaller than Angkor Wat, but, like its famous model, the most beautiful and purest Khmer style is evident in its design and its artistic quality.
By car: from Nakhon Ratchasima Highway 2 to Talat Khae (44 km (27 mi.)), then right along 206 (signpost; a total of 56 km (35 mi.)).
By bus: from Bangkok Northeastern Bus Terminal and Nakhon Ratchasima.
By rail: nearest station Nakhon Ratchasima.
By air: nearest airport Nakhon Ratchasima (daily from Bangkok).
Discoveries of clay fragments and jewelry provide evidence that the area around Phimai had already been settled during the Neolithic period. In the 11th c. the Khmers had the town fortified and developed it into the center of their empire. Like other towns in north Thailand, i.e. Buriram, Chaiyaphum and Lampang, Phimai lies on the route which linked Angkor to its provinces and which could be reconstructed from findings; the distance between Phimai and Angkor measured approximately 240 km (149 mi.). As the finds tell, Phimai was at that time a very important religious town.
In the 14th c., when the first ruler of Ayutthaya, King Rama Thibodi I (1350-69), conquered Angkor, Phimai lost importance as many of its impressive buildings collapsed. After Ayutthaya's destruction by the Burmese in 1767 and the fall of the empire, Phimai became the main town of a principality. This, however, was integrated into the new kingdom of Siam in 1768 after King Taksin's victory over Prince Phiphit of Phimai. The ruined town of Phimai was restored with considerable expenditure in the 1980s and opened to the public again as Phimai Historical Park.
The town of Phimai, located 270 km (168 mi.) north-east of Bangkok on the almost bare Khorat Plateau, was founded by the Khmers. The shrine is the largest and, without doubt, best preserved example in this area of Khmer art in Thailand. It was built only a few years after the important temple sites of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Phimai's temple site is certainly considerably smaller than Angkor Wat, but, like its famous model, the most beautiful and purest Khmer style is evident in its design and its artistic quality.
By car: from Nakhon Ratchasima Highway 2 to Talat Khae (44 km (27 mi.)), then right along 206 (signpost; a total of 56 km (35 mi.)).
By bus: from Bangkok Northeastern Bus Terminal and Nakhon Ratchasima.
By rail: nearest station Nakhon Ratchasima.
By air: nearest airport Nakhon Ratchasima (daily from Bangkok).
Discoveries of clay fragments and jewelry provide evidence that the area around Phimai had already been settled during the Neolithic period. In the 11th c. the Khmers had the town fortified and developed it into the center of their empire. Like other towns in north Thailand, i.e. Buriram, Chaiyaphum and Lampang, Phimai lies on the route which linked Angkor to its provinces and which could be reconstructed from findings; the distance between Phimai and Angkor measured approximately 240 km (149 mi.). As the finds tell, Phimai was at that time a very important religious town.
In the 14th c., when the first ruler of Ayutthaya, King Rama Thibodi I (1350-69), conquered Angkor, Phimai lost importance as many of its impressive buildings collapsed. After Ayutthaya's destruction by the Burmese in 1767 and the fall of the empire, Phimai became the main town of a principality. This, however, was integrated into the new kingdom of Siam in 1768 after King Taksin's victory over Prince Phiphit of Phimai. The ruined town of Phimai was restored with considerable expenditure in the 1980s and opened to the public again as Phimai Historical Park.
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Banyan Tree
(Phimai National Museum)
The gigantic Banyan Tree in Phimai, perched atop an island, is an interesting site.
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Phimai Historical Park
Highlights of the Phimai Historical Park are the 11th or 12th C main shrine, and the tower which held an important Buddha statue and was used during ceremonies.
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Phimai National Museum
The National Museum in Phimai features open-air exhibits which showcase portraits of Buddha and lintels from Khmer temples.
Townscape
Present-day Phimai occupies only part of the former town, once protected by walls, ramparts and moats; it originally covered an area of 582 sq. km (225 sq. mi.). Only ruins of the 4-m (13-ft) high sandstone walls remain and of the four town gates only the southern one, Pratu Chai (Victory Gate), still stands. The Khmer rulers would enter the town through this gate accompanied by their entourage, having come from Angkor. A shop-lined street led from here straight to the temple grounds.
Meru Boromathat hill rises by a parallel street on the right; the brick building in which King Boromathat's cremation is supposed to have taken place now consists solely of ruins. The cremation of Boromathat's wife probably occurred on a smaller hill opposite.
The town of Phimai occupies a strategically favorable position on an island; a canal, no longer in existence, was built between Menam Mun and Khlong Chakrai, one of its tributaries, which surround the largest part of the old town's precincts.
Meru Boromathat hill rises by a parallel street on the right; the brick building in which King Boromathat's cremation is supposed to have taken place now consists solely of ruins. The cremation of Boromathat's wife probably occurred on a smaller hill opposite.
The town of Phimai occupies a strategically favorable position on an island; a canal, no longer in existence, was built between Menam Mun and Khlong Chakrai, one of its tributaries, which surround the largest part of the old town's precincts.
