Thailand Travel 2023- Ubon Ratchathani

Ubon Ratchathani for western tourists is best known as the city you go to in Thailand to cross the border to Pakse in Laos. Most people spend the night there when they can’t make the timing work to catch one of the two daily buses to Pakse ,one at 9 am and one at 3 pm. We never planned to spend a day there. Our plan was to take the overnight train from Bangkok and then the 9:00 am bus to  Pakse but sometimes things happen when you travel. 

We arrived in Ubon  Ratchathani  by overnight train at 7:00 am. We used Grab to get a ride to our hotel, the Bordin Hotel, where the lady at the desk who spoke very little English happily let us check in very early. The hotel was dated but clean, the AC worked and so did the hot water so we had everything we needed. The room was huge!

Things to do and see

Thung Si Muang Park

We started our day here as it was close to the hotel. It’s a large square with a park around the outside. The centrepiece is a large golden statue of a candle float from the local candle festival which I will explain later. 

There is a paved running track around the park which is at least 900m and some fitness stations in the trees. In the evening there were kids playing football, basketball, and just hanging out. There was even a group learning the tango and another learning to unicycle. It’s a real hub of activity in the evening when it cools down. The trees are full of Finlayson Squirrels.

There is an active night market just across the street. It’s all food and it’s very local. Most signs are only in Thai. 

We rented bicycles  from M Laundry, which is a laundromat to extend our range. 

There are several Wats to explore these were the highlights for us.

Wat Thung Si Museang

The most unique feature at this Wat is the Scripture hall which is built on stilts in the middle of a pond to prevent ants and termites from getting to the scripture scrolls. 

Wat Phra That Nong Bua

Located 5 km from the downtown. We rode the bikes along a major roadway to get there. Built in 1955 and renovated in 1969. The Si Mahapho Holy Relic Chedi is a huge golden and glass structure. It’s a replica of the great Chedi at Buddhagaya in India. The whole complex is modern and impressive. Definitely worth a visit. It’s an important religious site so you need to make sure you dress appropriately. It was full of school kids on tours when we were there.

On the way back to the main road we stopped at a local resturant which only served one dish. It looked like a soupish thing and the price was on the wall so we went in and ordered. There was no English involved. Turns out you get your bowl of soup and add all the fixings you like from the table all for one low price. It was very good and I am sure we ammused everyone eating there.

Wat Tai Phra Chao Yai Ong or Wat Tai terng Ubon

This older temple which seems to have several names is definitely worth a visit. There are so many interesting statues packed into one small area! It was originally built in 1779 but they are still adding to it. If you only have time for one stop make it this one.

The Candle Festival 

Each of the Wats we visited had a large float for the candle festival tucked away out of the sun. These floats are covered in beeswax carvings and they are very elaborate.

The candle festival is held in Ubon Ratchathani just before the start of Buddhist lent. The date is not always the same but it’s generally late July to early August. The floats are all taken to the park and put on display. On the morning of Kao Pansa the floats are paraded through town with traditional dancers. There are also several other candle prosessions in town. The festival stems from the tradition of bringing candles and other needed items to the monks before lent begins and they can not leave the temple grounds. 

There are several other temples in town that we did not see as we were only there for 24 hours. Another place in the area we are told is definitely worth the visit. Kaeng TanaNational Park it’s about 85 km away up by the Laos border. We were told it was very beautiful. 

One final note about the bus to Pakse. We had tickets for the 9:00 am bus but when we arrived at the bus station we were told it was full and we would have to take the 3:00 pm bus which was leaving at noon. If you are planning to take a bus to Pakse, we recoomend planning for the 9:00 am bus to ensure you get a bus that day!