Unknown Khmer temples in Isan

We are in Ubon and start the day culturally. The National Museum. It is not big, but gives an excellent impression of the history of this region. Of course I am faster than Martine, but I return to some pictures of ancient Khmer temples. They look very attractive. They must be in a place or area called Det Udom.

At brunch we discuss our plans for the afternoon. We see both in the Khmer temples. First we go to the local tourist office to see if they can help us on our way. We don't get much wiser here, so we go back to the museum. There they at least know where Det Udom is and with which bus you can get there. They can also indicate on a map where the temples are located.

We take the bus to Det Udom, twenty kilometers south of Ubon. We arrive there two hours later. We try to explain to a group of motorized pushcart riders where we want to go. Their enthusiasm is not great, but in the end there is one boy who probably understands what we want. He wants to take us there for three hundred baht. We bump westward and soon I don't know where to sit anymore. The driver repeatedly asks passers-by where our temple might be. We are repeatedly put on the wrong track, because we often have to go back.

Finally a fruit seller tells us that we have to get off the road somewhere. We do this at a sandy path about one meter wide. We arrive at a farm and there we get a concrete answer for the first time. This woman knows where the Prasat Nong Thonglang, as the Khmer temple is called, is located. After a few hundred meters we see a pile of stones behind trees. Finally our ruin. We are excited, more because we have proved the proposition that he who seeks shall find, than because of the temple itself. It is a stone chedi several meters high and the Buddha statue, which we had seen in the photo in the museum, has disappeared. Our driver has absolutely no idea why we wanted to come here, but he is just as happy that we found it as we are. We are probably the first tourists ever to come here.

When we return to our handcart, I say we want to go to Prasat Ban Ben, the other temple, now. This one can't be far anymore, because I've already seen signs with this name on the main road. In that I am mistaken. I can't think about the way back. After about ten kilometers the road winds through a village and not far behind we see a turn with: Prasat Ban Ben. This temple is considerably larger. A stone plateau with various Chedis on it, in a reasonable condition. This day was successful. We ask the driver to stop for a while in the nearby village. We are thirsty and want beer. Then back to Det Udom.

The same kind of bus as on the way there brings us slowly but surely back to Ubon. We get off at the station and Martine proposes the plan to take the night train to Bangkok. Good idea, but provided we get a bed. I go to the counter and hear that all the beds are sold out. Seating only. When prompted, go to the office, where reservations can be made in the longer term. Buddha exists, because two tickets are returned there. Second class aircondition with beds. We still have time to enjoy a meal at a nearby restaurant, plus a bottle of Mekong. I'm ready for it. In the train we order a second bottle, so that we can sleep well.