Many ways of spelling these words in English.
My guide book spells the Khmer word for "hill" or "mount" as "phnom".
And the word for a terraced pyramid temple as "prasat"

Now the one that always confuses me is how to spell the name of the Region..
Is it "Isaan" or "Isan" or "Esarn"???

About traveling there, I am not an expert.
I will say I did not see much to excite me in Surin or Buriram.
Both are CITIES. And interestingly they both have moats around the Central area.
But not nearly as attractive as Chiang Mai.

The countryside is mostly flat and agricultural. Many small towns and lots of roadside places to eat.
My trip was made more enjoyable by Suhpot, Smiles partner. He drove and gave us the running account of where we where and what crops and plants we where seeing. Had never seen cashew trees before. And he has a thing for rubber trees!!! Watch out smiles, you will become a rubber baron in your old age!!!
My friend, Prun, from Bangkok is actually from Sakhon Nakhon, to the North. So this was his first trip to this area. He really enjoyed it!!

Bottom line, I am an architect so I went to see the temple ruins. Many more that I did not visit. They are not all together, as in Angkor Wat. But I would take a friend who can be your guide. I know you can rent a car and drive yourself. The traffic on the roads was not so bad. But I would strongly recommend contacting Suphot. He is GREAT, both as a guide and a driver!!!

OH, Suphot has a Nissan pickup truck, King Cab. But only two seats in front. So he put in some pillows for Prun and it worked out fine!!!

Cheers,
George