The high plateau of northeastern Thailand - or Isan, as the region is most commonly known today - is home to some of the best-restored and most impressive monuments dating from the Khmer Empire and Cambodia's Angkor Period (9th-13th centuries). The era began in 802 CE with the deification of King Jayavarman II near present-day Siemp Reap in Cambodia. In assuming the crown, he simultaneously became a devaraja or 'God-King', representing the Hindu deities Vishnu and Siva here on earth.

Inspired by the Hindu-Buddhist architecture of central Java, where he is believed to have studied as a young man, Jayavarman II became the first ruler in Southeast asia to sponsor the construction of religious monuments featuring the extensive use of brick or stone towers. Over the next 350 years, this style of architecture evolved into the sophisticated set of walled and moated temple complexes...

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