Lost in Prasat Muang Tam

Located only 8 km from the Phnom Rung ruins on the plain below, Prasat Muang Tam should be a part of the Buriam itinerary First built as a Hindu temple, and is built in laterite bricks. Its original name has been lost to time, so the name it is known is derived from its location below Phanom Rung, and district in which it is located. The park where the ruins are has a small entrance fee, and is usually much less crowded than the nearby attraction of Phanom Rung.

The temple is built in the classical Khmer style, laterite brick walls pierced in the four cardinal directions with the central compound and five towers, like a little Angkor Wat on a tight budget. The approach to the wall has some interesting gopuras, which which are the Khmer style entrances that pass through the border wall. The one used as the main entrance to the east has a well preserved covered galleries. This is also where my horror story with bats begins.

Now in many of these ruins, one can expect a far amount of bats to seek refuge and take advantage of these man made caves during the day. Myself, being curious on the architectural features and wondering how the rafters were joined together to form the vaulted ceiling should have taken that into consideration. If I haven’t mentioned it yet, I am kind of an idiot and rush into things before considering what might be the best way to approach these types of situations. I decided that maybe an area where not many people were likely to have climbed around would be a good place to investigate and because it was dark I had better use my flash on my camera. I aimed for a far recessed portion of the vaulted ceiling to get an idea on how they were formed. And that is when I invaded their home and rudely awakened them. Now, usually there are only a few bats, five at most. But for whatever reason the walls and ceiling were black with them. I must have interrupted some secret bat society and boy were they unhappy with me. Its true what they say, they may have swarmed but I don’t think a single one of those buggers actually made contact as they flew past me. I didn’t stay to find out how many actually escaped as I was flying out of there as fast as they were.

For the record this is unusual behavior as I have found bats numerous times in these old temple ruins throughout South East Asia. I believe it was my proximity to them, the vast number of them, and the flash that upset them. This was also when I visited the temple pretty close to closing time so these bats were likely ready to fly out for there nights hunt anyway.  I can think back to all of this and laugh now, but lets say it has taught me to not simply be poking around in dark enclosed spaces with a flash function on my camera on. On my latest visit, I didn’t experience that bat hoard, and I had arrived at the ruins much earlier in the day, and yes I did poke my head around to see if there were any bats, only one, which made me decide to beat a hasty retreat.

The gopuras are all built in a cruciform shape and an interesting feature for this ruin, the beams that made up the roof past the vaulting were made of wood, and the traces of the beams placement can still be found in the walls. There are no remains of brick or tiles, so the assumption is he roof was constructed of wood. The Eastern gopuyra leads to an extensive inner courtyard, with four ‘L’ shaped ponds placed symmetrically in the four corners, each separated by a corridor to the other gopuras. and enclosing wall. Each corner is adorn with 5-headed nagas, protecting the sacred waters.

The main enclosure is ringed with a gallery and gopuras which are smaller than the ones on the boundary wall, and opened, presumably these were also built of wood overhead. The gallery was likely covered with brick, which makes for an interesting combination for these structures. The innermost area of the ruins are dominated by 5 laterite and stone towers, which would have housed sacred images. The five towers are all built on one elevated platform, each opening to the east, and built in two rows, the front has three towers, the remaining to built behind them. Of the five towers, you will have noticed that there are barely four standing. the fifth, central prang is missing. Only the foundation remains, but as its base is much larger than the other four it is safe to assume this would have been at least twice as tall as the others. The lintels above the openings of the remaining four towers each feature gods of Hindu cosmology.

From there, you are free to roam about and get the best angle for the camera. A lot to play around and climb on in Muang Tam, and there is always a chance to see a monk exploring the ruins on a tour as well. The stairs tend to be a little steep, which is another common characteristic of the old Khmer temples. This is another ruin where I have spent considerable time as it is not far from my base in Korat, so I get to venture out here pretty often. The last stop to take a peek before leaving is the baray to the north of the ruins. It can’t be missed as the road leading to the site is located here. If you are lucky a cow or buffalo will be in the shot, but they are often to be found on the west end of the baray where their owners seem to let them roam free.