Buriram

Khao Kradong, Phanom Rung and Muang Tam across three Buriram days

Three days covers Buriram. Spend the first afternoon at Khao Kradong Forest Park and the municipal night bazaar, the second day at the Khmer sanctuaries of Phanom Rung and Muang Tam with a stop at Na Pho for silk, and the third at the Lower Northeastern Cultural Centre or Huai Talat Reservoir.

Fly into Buriram Airport on the morning flight from Bangkok and drive the 34 km south into town, then spend the first afternoon close to the centre. Ride the pink songthaew on Line 1 out to Khao Kradong Forest Park, climb to the Phra Suphattharabophit Buddha on the summit. Come down to Kradong Reservoir for a walk before dinner.

Leave before dawn with a driver for Phanom Rung, which sits on the rim of an extinct volcano in Chaloem Phra Kiat district. Built in stages from the 10th to the 13th century as a shrine to Shiva, it is approached along a processional walkway and a series of naga bridges to the central tower; look for the Narai lintel above the eastern door. Muang Tam, a flat temple ringed by L-shaped ponds, is a short drive below the hill and best seen next, before the heat builds. On the way back, stop at Na Pho to watch mudmi silk being woven.

Spend the third morning at the Lower Northeastern Cultural Centre or, between November and April, with the birds at Huai Talat Reservoir. If your dates line up, finish with a Buriram United home game at Chang Arena or a session at the Chang International Circuit, both a short Grab ride west of the centre.

Som tam, gai yang and the Buriram night markets

Buriram eats lower Isan food with sticky rice at every meal, and Khmer and Lao influences make it sharper and more herbal than Bangkok cooking. Learn som tam, gai yang and laab moo. The municipal night bazaar on Mani Wan Alley and the weekend Sro Ground walking street on Romburi Road are the best places to eat.

The basics: som tam, green papaya pounded with lime, chilli and fish sauce; gai yang, grilled chicken; and laab moo, minced pork with toasted rice powder, mint and lime. Eat them with your hands, rolling sticky rice into a ball and using it to scoop.

At the night bazaar, tiny makeshift kitchens in the back alleys cook khao soi gai, spicy northern-style sausages and plates of laab to order.

At weekends the Sro Ground walking street on Romburi Road takes over. Around half of its hundred-odd stalls sell takeaway food, and locals treat it as an evening out with few tourists in sight. For a sit-down dinner with live music, the Baan Chay Nam restaurant on Liang Mueang Road is a long-running local favourite. The Square further along Romburi Road has bars, karaoke and a big nightclub.

Phanom Rung sunrise, MotoGP and the best time to visit Buriram

November to February is the best time to visit Buriram, with about 4 mm of rain in December and nights near 18C. Around 3 to 5 April the sunrise lines up through Phanom Rung's fifteen doorways, MotoGP fills the town in March, and September is the wettest month at about 249 mm.

In the cool, dry months daytime highs stay near 30C to 31C, the right weather for long temple days, and the birds return to Huai Talat Reservoir in large numbers.

April peaks at about 37C, and the province holds its Phanom Rung festival with processions and light and sound shows on or near the first weekend of April. The alignment happens four times a year, with a matching sunrise in early September, but April draws the biggest crowds. Arrive in the dark to get a place.

March brings the Thai round of MotoGP to the Chang International Circuit, the busiest weekend of the year in town. Earlier, on the full moon of the third lunar month, usually in February, Khao Kradong holds its Buddha's Footprint homage fair. In the rains from May to October, temple visits are best done in the morning, before the afternoon storms.