Ubon Ratchathani

Located Northeast of Thailand, on the border with Laos, Ubon Ratchathani is mainly consist of forest and farms ideal to explore nature.

Its national parks are an opportunity to learn more about the fauna and flora typical of Thailand. Since it was once connected to the Khmer Empire, the region is also home to numerous Angkorian temples.

Ubon was founded on the northern bank of the Mun River by a group of Lao princes fleeing Vientiane in the late 1700s. They applied for King Taksin’s protection, duly granted in 1779 along with the city’s new name, meaning “Royal City of the Lotus”. Modern-day Ubon was a U.S. air base during the Vietnam War and grew rapidly at the time, but little has happened since then. The town of Warin Chamrap, on the south bank of the river, is effectively a suburb of Ubon these days.

Wat Phra That Nong Bua: this is a beautiful wat close to the centre of town. Well worth a visit. The grounds are shady and quiet. This temple is slightly different from most thai temples as it has a distinct Indian feel due to the gold and white chedi. The site has a very relaxing feel to it. It is nice to walk around and beautiful inside with the wax statue on display.

Wat Thung Sri Muang: the wooden temple is very picturesque and rare – since it is wooden. It’s built on rough-hewn wooden pillars that are sunk into the bottom of a lotus pond, so that it’s surrounded by water to protect the manuscripts it contains from termites and other insects. The architecture of the wooden structure with its pitched, vaulted roofs is perfectly balanced, modest yet completely sure of itself. The old mondop nearby has a large Buddha footprint and 150-year-old murals drawn from the Jataka Tales that are realistic and symbolic simultaneously. It’s cool inside even on hot days. It doesn’t take long to walk around, but it’s worthwhile to sit for several minutes here and there and let the historic atmosphere sink in.