Prasat Ta Kwai

In October 2015, the Dishonourable Edward Pastanga and I set off on a road trip to Esaan for the sole purpose of visiting ancient Khmer sites (Phanom Rung, a.o.) and an old friend of mine who lives in Prasat, Surin.

Ray and his Thai wife Na were pleased to see us and supplied us with loads of food and beer, always welcome, of course.

The Thai-Cambodian border wasn't far from their house, and Ray took us on a tour to relatively unknown Khmer temples.

The highlight of our visit was probably Prasat Ta Kwai (Ta Krabey in Cambodian), located in the jungle of the Phanom Dongrek mountain range.

This sanctuary probably dates back to the 12th - 13th century!

Here Ray and DEP are doing their best Indiana Jones impression...

In those days, Thai and Cambodian soldiers mingled peacefully...

Due to the disputed border (no thanks to the bloody French), this area was a kind of no-man's land...

Sadly enough, last year several skirmishes erupted between Thailand and Cambodia, with the result that this temple is now considered to be part of Thailand again.

This came at a cost, though, as the temple (and its surrounding area) got heavily damaged, see the photo underneath...

From the Bangkok Post, Jan 2026: Thirteen Thai frontline soldiers enter the monkhood in remembrance of 42 fallen comrades who lost their lives in combat during the second outbreak of the Thai-Cambodian conflict in December. The ceremony took place on Monday at the Ta Kwai temple ruins in Phanom Dong Rak district of Surin province. (Photo: 22nd Infantry Battalion, Task Force 2)

Afterword: Cambodia claimed that the Thai army targeted Angkorian temples along the border, and while Thailand admits doing so, it accused Cambodia of stationing troops inside the temple, thus making it a legitimate target under international law....

Both countries claim Ta Kwai and a few other temples as their own, and, in the process of achieving this goal, have ruined these historical sites even more.

Not to mention the lives lost and displaced locals on both sides of the border...

Right now, there's an uneasy ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, but social media on both sides are stoking the flames of nationalism as much as they can...

NOTE: All my photos have been heavily manipulated with various filters, and some pixels were damaged during this process...