Buriram

Buriram Province is one of Thailand’s seventy-six provinces (changwat) lies in lower northeastern Thailand also called Isan. Neighboring provinces are (from south clockwise) Sa Kaeo, Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Maha Sarakham, and Surin. To the southeast it borders Oddar Meancheay of Cambodia. The name “Buriram” means ‘city of happiness’.Almost a thousand years ago, the present-day Buriram was part of the Khmer Empire. Ruins from that time attest to its destruction. The most significant of them is on an extinct volcano and is protected in the Phanom Rung Historical Park. According to inscriptions found, Buriram’s ruler recognized the hegemony of the Khmer Empire’s emperor. Before the ascent of Bangkok, little was known about Buriram. In the early Bangkok Period, in the early-19th century, the town originally called Muang Pae was renamed Buriram.