Customer Reviews

Guide To Khmer Temples In Thailand And Laos

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I've visited many of the temples Michael Freeman describes and have a huge soft spot for Northeast Thailand and Laos. This guide has enhanced my understanding of the places I've visited and provided some great incentives to visit more. I wish the guide had been available when I first started visiting the Khmer temples of Northeast Thailand. Michael Freeman's photographs and commentary are informative and interesting. There are good layouts and drawings of the individual temples and an excellent rating system which highlights not only the architectural and historical importance of the temples but also the setting. The information on how to get to places and where to stay is useful and good for planning an itinerary.

Michael Freeman's guide covers over fifty Khmer temples in Thailand and Laos, plus the border temples in Cambodia. (Angkor is not included; see the book "Ancient Angkor," by the same author, for complete information on Angkor.)

The temples and their major features are described with quite a bit of detail for the major temples, and not so much detail for the less important ones. The book has all the features one would wish for in a good guidebook - maps, site plans, floor plans of the major temples, color photogaphs (Freeman is both the author and the photographer of the guide), hotels, restaurants, and transportation. The first 50 pages give some very useful background on architecture, lintel styles, and the chronology of the temples. Suggested itineraries, temple rankings, and a glossary of general and architectural terms are also provided.

According to the inside front cover, the Weatherhill edition on which I based this review was published in 1998, apparently with the same content as the original edition of 1996. I don't know if any more recent editions are available. The book's staying in print for over 7 years is proof of its popularity and usefulness. However, since things change rapidly in that part of the world, the reader may want to consider purchasing a more recent guide for up-to-date practical information. Freeman's guide, however, is still highly recommended for the core information that it provides about the temples themselves.