The town of Nakhon Ratchasima, once also called Khorat, lies 220 km (137 mi.) north of Bangkok on the south-west edge of the Khorat Plateau. During recent decades it has become a center of Thailand's most structurally weak region; as railway lines from the north and the east meet here, Nakhon Ratchasima is of importance for the delivery of supplies to the north-east (which accounts for a third of Thailand's area). A good two-thirds of the region's population (approximately 2.2 million) live in the area around Nakhon Ratchasima, including many Laotians and Cambodians.
By car: from Bangkok Highway 1 as far as Saraburi, then Highway 2 ("Friendship Highway", 265 km (165 mi.)). From the Gulf of Thailand (at Chonburi) Highway 304 (260 km (162 mi.)).
By rail: on the Bangkok-Ubon Ratchathani and Bangkok-Udon Thani lines.
By bus: from Bangkok Northern Bus Terminal.
By air: daily from Bangkok.
The town is thought to have been founded at the end of the 13th c. as an outpost of the Thai principalities against the Khmer, when fortifications were built on the orders of King Narai (1656-88). Chronicles record an attack by Khmer troops in 1826 (Khunying Mo memorial in front of the western town gate).
The extensive Wat Phra Narai Mahathat in Prajak Road lies near a large market (Mukkhamontri Road), which is worth seeing. Several sculptured sandstone slabs from Khmer temples stand here, as does a highly revered Vishnu figure in a small Hindu temple.
Dan Kwian is noted as the "land of ceramics", the pottery is known for the rough texture and rust colouring. The potters have expanded from bowls and dishes to include jewelry, vases, figurines and tools.
The wide moats and the reconstructed Pratu Chumphon gate give an impression of the extent of the fortification. The bronze memorial to Thao Suranari, who is revered as a national heroine (Khunying Mo), stands on a terrace in front of the gate. When King Amu's Khmer troops invaded the town in 1826, the wife of the commander of the fort and other women staged a session outside the town for the occupying forces and attacked the soldiers. After a month they had finally driven the Khmer away.
Old Khorat has an interesting Khmer temple, Wat Prasat Hin Noen Ku in present-day Muang Khorakhopura (about 37 km (23 mi.) west of Nakhon Ratchasima; Highway 2 to Sung Noen, from there a further 7 km (4 mi.)). Situated on a large square terrace, the construction, to which two more small buildings belong, possesses beautiful sculptures dating from the mid-10th c.
An area of debris lies near the village of Muang Sema, 40 km (25 mi.) west of Nakhon Ratchasima. An important Mon town, it is thought to have developed on this site between the 6th c. and the 11th c.
There is evidence of city moats and earth walls, artefacts have been uncovered including a reclining sandstone Buddha image and an old religious relic.
Nakhon Ratchasima province is one of the most important centers of Thai silk production, both of thread and of materials. Silk production from the caterpillar onwards can be observed in the silk-weaving village of Pak Thong Chai, some 33 km (21 mi.) away (Highway 2 to the south-west, then Highway 304 in the direction of Kabinburi). Many mills offer tours through their production rooms and sell inexpensive silk articles in their showrooms. A number of smaller silk-weaving mills line the main road.
Near Wat Prasat Hin Noen Ku can be found the ruins of Wat Prasat Muang Khaek with a prang and a porch. The wat is famous chiefly for the richly articulated and finely detailed sculptures on its door lintels, tympanums and pillars (mostly motifs from Brahman mythology). A number of elaborate 10th c. stone sculptures have been discovered in this temple.
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Wat Sutthachinda
