This gallery and the one that follows—with images from Wat Sra Bua Kaeo—take us far afield, geographically and stylistically, from the grand temples of Bangkok and Chiang Mai and their surrounding areas. Both Wat Srathong and Wat Sra Bua Kaeo are located in the province of Khon Kaen, in Isaan, Thailand's northeast, a largely rural area. Both of these temples are also more humbly modest and more closely attuned to their local origins than many of the grander temples found elsewhere in the country. Perhaps worth noting as well, to quote from Nithi Sthapitanonda and Brian Mertens' Architecture of Thailand, "The Buddhist architecture of Isaan has been shaped mostly by the ethnic Tai groups who have migrated there since the 17th century, especially from Laos. Temple architecture reflects the Laotian styles that similarly influenced some parts of northern Thailand."