Khorat, Phimai and the Future!

From Ayuthaya, we headed east as was our original plan when we left Bangkok. However, having looked over our itinerary, we realized there is very little to see in east Thailand and we might need to adjust our plans, so we did. Our new plan became this: we would spend a night in Khorat (Nakhon Ratchasima) and then head up to Phimai to see a Wat that supposedly pre-dates Ankgor Wat. We have very little to report about Khorat because we were only there for a night and did very little other than eat and roam the city in search of food, but in the opposite order obviously. Khorat, according to the Lonely Planet guide, is very seldom visited by tourists and so makes little or no effort to accommodate them. This we found to be true right from the bus and were pleased. As we looked for the hotel we planned to stay at, we stopped and asked a person that looked like they might be able to help us with directions. From this man we received our favorite response thus far from a person unable to answer our question, and that response was this: “I’m sorry, I don’t speak English. I’m from Thailand,” said in perfect English and in a very cheery tone. It was great.

That’s about all for Khorat.

We got up pretty early the next morning and headed for Phimai on the bus. We found Phimai to be small and without many tourists or attractions beyond a superb plate of honey glazed chicken wings which you can read about in the food blog. The Wat however was magnificent. It was not only wonderfully preserved, but it was intricately carved and there were placards in front of each structure explaining what it was, how it was used and what it had housed. We spent the better part of the day wondering around inspecting the different carvings in the walls and over the doorways. Many of the buildings were over 800 years old and still bore inscriptions now protected behind hard plastic casing in their limestone walls. The text was not transcribed and as neither of us read or speak Thai, we did not know what they said. Naturally we hope it was something eloquent and beautiful, but they could’ve said something as simple as “take your shoes off before entering or die a miserable death you scalawag.” Who’s to say?

That night at the market we saw our first insects-as-food booth. They were selling roasted grubs, crickets and some other crawling thing with more than four legs. Neither of us cared to try them, so we cannot report on their flavor. We’re sorry, but our stomachs, strong as they are, were not tempted.