Resting at Ban Bu

Prasat Ban Bu lies in the grounds of a school by the same name

If you visit Phnom Rung and Muang Tam, in Northeast Thailand, you will also find yourself in the vicinity of another of the 'dharmasalas', or rest-houses, that are dotted along the Angkor to Phimai Royal Road. Located 6kms from Muang Tam and en route as we made our way towards the Thai-Cambodia border to visit the Ta Muen group of temples, is Prasat Ban Bu. Today its only worth a quick stop as the laterite tower has disappeared and just the shell of the chapel remains, within the grounds of a school. I couldn't find any carving aside from a solitary pedestal and the ruined nature of the site, constructed under Jayavarman VII's rule in the late 12th century, means its only for real temple anoraks, like me.

The sandstone windows line the southern wall of the chapel

The shell of the dharmasala is all that remains today

Signs in Thai and English like this, can be found at all of the temples we visited