Mo E-daeng | Bangkok Post: Mo E-daeng

Khao Phra Viharn National Park, Si Sa Ket Overlooking the lowlands that are now part of Cambodia, the steep cliff of Mo E-daeng is where officials have had the headquarters of Khao Phra Viharn National Park built. This location also provides the easiest access to Phra Viharn (or Preah Vihear, as the Cambodians calls it), an ancient Khmer shrine to the Hindu god Shiva. Before France forced King Rama V to cede several large parcels of territory along Siam's eastern frontier in the late 19th century, the lowlying land from this cliff all the way to Siem Rat (now Siem Reap in Cambodia) and Phra Tabong (now Battambang) was Siamese soil. Nowadays the border between the two countries in this area follows the contours of this steep-sided mountain, a state of affairs with which most Thais have no problems. An International Court of Justice ruling in 1962 that gave ownership of the shrine to Cambodia was grudgingly accepted by Thailand, partly because the verdict did not touch on sovereignty of the land surrounding it. The resentment felt by some Thai citizens about Cambodia's efforts to have Preah Vihear included on Unesco's World Heritage list stems from fears that this is merely a ploy to expand Cambodian territory and ultimately lay claim to natural-gas deposits that have been discovered in the Gulf of Thailand. - How to get there Khao Phra Viharn NP is 36 kilometres south of Kantharalak, which itself is about 62km southeast of Si Sa Ket town. - Food and accommodation Mo E-daeng and much of the national park are now off-limits to visitors because of the ongoing tension along the border. - For more information Telephone: Khao Phra Viharn NP on 045-818-021 Internet: http://www.dnp.go.th/parkreserve/asp/style1/default.asp Full review at: http://www.bangkokpost.com/travel/news/190706/mo-e-daeng