I started back from Surin but had a number of ruins that I wanted to see before heading home. I drove from the province of Surin back into the province of Buriram. I have visited 2 of the sites before on trips to Thailand in the past and I had looked for 2 of the sites I visited before but was unable to find them. Thanks to google maps I made it to places I spent hour unsuccessfully looking for in the past.
My first stop was turning into school grounds to visit the ruins of Prasat Ban Bu. It was not that impressive of a site but I was happy that it was a weekend and I did not have to deal with all the students.
I think Kuti Rishi Ban Nong Bua Lai is one of the sites I could not find back in 2011 or 2012. It was in the Lonely Planet but with only a map of a really large area and no road signs I gave up looking for it. With the help of GPS I found it with no problem. I understand how I missed it since it is on a side road in a small village.
Kuti Rishi Ban Khok Mueang was easy to find with GPS. Think it can been seen from the main road so not sure why I did not find it in the past but it is another checked off the list I don't have.
It was only a few hundred meter to get to Prasat Muang Tam. I have been here before but with it being so close and being one of the most impressive temples of this type in Thailand, it was well worth visiting again. That is also the case for Prasat Phanom Rung which was my next stop. If you buy the 150 baht ticket it is good to visit both of these sites.
Phanom Rung Historical Park was my last tourist site that I visited. Even though I have been here at least twice before it is a really interesting site and I saved the best for last.
After spending a good part of the day looking at the ruins I made the long drive to a small town called Watthana Nakhon in the province of Sa Kaeo. I found a small hotel on the outskirts of town. When checking in I think the guy asked me where I had been and I told him Prasat Phanom Rung. He did not seem to understand me so I got out my phone and showed him some of the pictures and he kept saying Cambodia. I told him no Thailand Buriram and he seemed surprised. I was stunned how a Thai could not know about Prasat Phanom Rung. Later looking at a map Sa Kaeo maybe closer to Angkor Wat than Prasat Phanom Rung. I guess I should have asked if he had been to Cambodia.
The following morning I took off and made the long drive home. I took the longer way according to google maps and did not take any major highways until close to home. I had to watch out for a few monkeys in the middle of the road and as always trying to miss the pothole that would swallow up my motorcycle.
Even with all the rain I seemed to surburn a different part of my body every day. Arms and hands one day, knees and neck another and the top of my head at Muang Tam and Phanom Rung.
It was a good trip and I should really do move of them but am so much better at being lazy.
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