I broke the long drive from Khon Kaen (a large, bustling city with a terrible traffic problem) back to Ayutthaya with a stop at the town of Phimai, famous for its Khmer temple, Prasat Hin Phimai. Unlike the other Khmer temples I visited on this trip, this one is in the middle of town, surrounded on all sides by busy, shop-lined streets.

The format of the temple is very similar to the other Khmer temples I visited: an approach which passes over ponds and through smaller, cruciform buildings before entering the walled enclosure around the sanctuary building.

This temple was also different because it had Mahayana Buddhist features, as well as the more usual Hindu ones.

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