Three-in-one
A trip to Ubon Ratchathani puts visitors within touching distance of Laos and Cambodia
KARNJANA KARNJANATAWE
(Bangkok Post)
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This wooden structure was built in a pond to keep insects at bay. It contains holy scriptures and is open to public. — Photos by ARTHUR JONES DIONIO
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Locals still make a living from fishing in the Moon River, although the fish population has declined markedly since the Pak Moon Dam was built.
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Goods on sale at bargain prices, including wild orchids, at the Chong Mek border market.
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The path to the temple is paved with vendors peddling organs of bear, python and deer.
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Ruins at Khao Phra Viharn Temple are a mark of neglect on part of Khmer authorities.
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In Ban Khumpun, a female worker weaves silk using traditional methods and patterns.
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A villager replicates cave life in medieval times for visitors at Pha Taem National Park.
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Brass utensils of Ban Pa-Ao are one of Ubon’s better known products.
Ubon Ratchathani is more than just a big Isan province. Its history dates way way back. And other than Pha Taem National Park (featured in Horizons last week) Ubon, as it is known in short, has much more to offer to tourists.
**Learn its background **
Centuries ago, Ubon was part of the Khmer Empire until it was annexed by King Ramathibodi of Ayutthaya and made part of the Thai kingdom.
Twenty years after the fall of Ayutthaya, King Rama I of Rattanakosin offered the title of a noble to a local leader who could unite the many small settlements into one town. The mission was accomplished in 1786 by Thao Khamphong, who had emigrated from Laos.
He was appointed the first ruler of monthon Ubon, or Ubon region, that covered not only Ubon Province as we see it today, but also Surin, Si Saket and parts of southern Laos.
In 1933, monthon governance was abolished and Ubon became a province, the kingdom’s largest until a part of it was carved off in 1972 to become Yasothon Province, and again in 1993 that became Amnat Charoen.
At present Ubon covers 15,744 square kilometers and has 20 districts. It is Thailand’s fifth largest province.
**Khong Chiam, the confluence of two rivers **
Arriving to Ubon, one thing that immediately catches the attention of visitors is the lifestyle of local people by the banks of Moon River, Thailand’s second largest river, that flows into the Mekong forming a natural boundary between Thailand with Laos.
The district of Khong Chiam sits on a picturesque peninsula at the confluence of Moon and Mekong rivers, a point that locals call Mae Nam Song Si or the river of two colours. It has become a tourist attraction. Visitors take long-tailed boats to see the different colours of water of the two rivers, and some of them then proceed to visit a market on the Laotian side.
Fishing is still the main source of income of people living by the Moon. You can spot long-tailed boats and their complement of men with baits and fishing nets prowling the river. Where the river is shallow you will see them catching fish with conical traps made from bamboo. They are usually at it all night as fish population has dwindled since the Pak Moon Dam was built.
Khong Chiam has another popular attraction, Pha Taem National Park, 94 kilometres from Ubon city. It is famous for its 3,000-year-old murals painted on a 180-metre stretch of rock. There are some 300 paintings of plaa buek or the giant Mekong catfish, turtles, elephants, hunters, fishermen and human palms.
Ratri Wongklom, a volunteer guide of the Fine Arts Department, said Pha Taem had four sets of murals spread out along a three-kilometre loop that runs up and down the mountain, but visitors usually go to the one that features the largest collection of paintings because it would take at least two hours to do the full loop.
**The Chong Mek border **
From Khong Chiam take the Route 217. For a meal you can stop at any restaurant on the edge of Sirindhorn Dam, all of them serve excellent food.
Five kilometers from the dam is a small trading area called Chong Mek where you can cross into Laos. From there it’s an hour’s drive to Pakse, the capital of southern Laos.
There is nothing much of interest in Chong Mek unless you are looking for cheap goods from China and Vietnam or bamboo baskets made in Laos. The vendors are friendly, even engaging, and don’t mind if you bargain the prices.
“You can buy CDs at Chong Mek, but if they are Thai movies you can’t take them across the border into Thailand,” said our guide.
**Cambodia and Khao Preah Vihear **
The Khmer temple of Khao Preah Vihear - or Khao Phra Viharn as it is known to Thais - is near Si Sa Ket, about 90 minutes drive from the town of Ubon.
The temple can be accessed only via Khao Phra Viharn National Park which includes parts of Ubon and Si Sa Ket.
The temple built in 1038 by King Suryavarman I in honour of Hindu god Shiva perches 657 metres above sea level on Phnom Dong Rak mountain range that straddles Thailand and Cambodia.
For years the two countries lay contesting claims to the temple but in 1962 the International Court of Justice ruled it in favour of Cambodia.
Despite its former glory, Khao Preah Vihear today is not exactly a great tourism attraction. The place is full of vendors selling souvenirs and peddling products such as the bear’s paw, oil extracted from serows and gall-bladder of bear and python.
The path to the temple is littered with garbage and materials left over from construction work. As such, its greatest asset is not the art nor its heritage, but the panoramic view of Cambodia it offers from its elevated position on the mountain.
The general consensus among visitors is that Khao Preah Vihear is only good for one visit.
**Back to Ubon **
On Highway 23 in Ubon’s northwest is the village of Ban Pa-Ao, long famous for its utensils made from brass using a mix of bee-wax and clay casting.
“We burn the ores in a clay pot to temperatures of 700-1,000 degrees Celsius and pour the molten brass into a mold,” said Boontern Phosiri, 44, one of its residents.
The mold is made from clay and bee wax which allows makers to set designs or patterns according to their liking. The more popular products are bells with jinglets, betel trays and small containers used for storing water at social and religious functions.
Ban Pa-Ao is also famous for its silk weaving industry, which has received OTOP rating.
Another place where you can see the unique patterns of Isan silk-weaving is Ban Khampun in the province’s Muang district. It is a private undertaking and it opens its premises to visitors only once a year - during the candle festival on Buddhist Lent Day.
MORE INFO
Ubon Ratchathani is 629 kilometres from Bangkok by road, 575 kilometres by train.
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By drive: Take Highway 1 to Saraburi. Once there move to Highway 2 and then Highway 24 and drive on to Ubon. Alternately, take the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima highway and connect to Route 226 and drive to Ubon.
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By bus: Buses leave Mor Chit bus terminal at regular inetrvals daily. For more information, call 02-936-2852-66. Chertchai Tour (02-936-0611), Mongkol Tour (02-936-3638-9), Nakhonchai Air (02-936-3900) and Siriratanapol (02-936-0278).
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By air: Thai Airways (www.thaiairways.com) operates three daily flights, tel: 1566. Air Asia (www.airasia.com)/) flies to Ubon daily, tel: 02-515-9999.
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By train: There is daily train service from Bangkok to Ubon. For more information, call 1690, web site: www.railway.co.th. To get around town, there are `samlor’, motorbikes and public buses.