Phimai

Introducing Phimai

The innocuous little town of Phimai has one of northeastern Thailand’s finest surviving Khmer temple complexes at its heart. Reminiscent of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, which was built a century later, Prasat Phimai once stood on an important trade route linking the Khmer capital of Angkor with the northern reaches of the realm. Peppered with ruins and surrounded by ragged sections of the ancient town wall, modern-day Phimai still offers a little taste of this historic heyday. There is almost nothing to do here once you have wandered through the ruins – which are far less significant than those at Angkor Wat – but if you prefer the quiet life, this sleepy town makes a pleasant base from which to explore the wider region.