Phimai Historical Park

Today we caught a bus 60 back up in the direction that we came from yesterday.

The reason was to visit the Phimai Historical Park which is said to be the inspiration for Angkor Wat. 

It is about 200 years older than Angkor Wat, but to my untrained eye looks almost identical. It is obviously much smaller and at 100 baht, or just over £2 it is much cheaper to visit. 

It is also much quieter and I even spotted what I think is a hoopoe in the gardens. 

Afterwards we walked down to a beautiful lake that was covered in lotus and lily flowers. 

Just around the corner was the biggest banyan tree in the world, or so it says. It is over 350 years old and sprawls across a huge area. 

We finished off with a beer at a local stall and then back to our hotel.