Nakhon Phanom - Temples

Wat Okat at Night

There are several beautiful and important temples located in Nakhon Phanom city. At night, they are lit to show their best side and it makes a stroll along the Mekong River interesting. I have chosen Wat Okat as an example of the night time splendor.

The building to the right houses two images carved in wood. According to legend, these two imaged, called Phra Tiu and Phra Thiam, floated across the river roughly 1,000 years ago. These images are very sacred and seen here with very colorful murals on the walls.

I mentioned Wat Phra That Phanom in an earlier blog

http://tinamue.blogspot.com/2011/06/nakhon-phanom-once-upon-time-2.html

Chedi at Wat Phra That Phanon

It is located south of the provincial capital and is probably the most important Buddhist temple in eastern Isan. The 57 meter tall chedi is iconic and presumably contains a piece of the Lord Buddha's chest bone. A large festival to celebrate the temple starts the 10th day of the third lunar month and lasts for a week. This is normally in February, so in about two weeks' time, an estimated 10,000 people will make pilgrimage to the temple.

Laos - Road Trip

Last year, I took a drive from Ubon to Nakhon Panom on the Laotian side of the river. The crossing at Chong Mek was a bit hectic as I got caught up in focusing on getting the car's papers processed. It went so smoothly that I left the border crossing area and was about to start my journey when I realized I had forgotten to get myself a visa. So, I could actually have entered Laos without a visa.

Chong Mek Duty Free

Anyway, although it was surprisingly easy to get the car cleared, it did still take some time as I obviously was not the only vehicle crossing the border. All in all, it took around two hours including that I had to return and get myself a visa.

There is rain in them thar hills

A new road to Wat Phu has been built. It is a toll way costing 15,000 kip. The old (much more narrow) road still winds its way along the river, but the toll way is the best option. It runs closer to the hills where the clouds hang low in the rainy season.

Stairs to climb to reach Wat Phu

Navigating through Pakse to get on to the main road heading north was a bit tricky, but once that was done, it was clear sailing. The road is of decent quality, but it isn't wide and can be outright dangerous at night. It seemed every fifth vehicle or so did not have lights that were functioning. This can result in the unpleasant surprise of nearly plowing into the rear end of a slow moving truck. Likewise, many motorcyclists must have some sort of death wish as they were driving without lights.

Virgin Mary & Son outside Catholic church in Savannakhet

Savannakhet is a nice quaint town with several interesting old buildings and a bustling market. The promenade along the river bank was extremely under-utilized. I liked Vientiane 16-17 years ago when the river bank had a cluster of noodle shops and food stalls where one could have a meal and a cold beer or two. This was before the Vietnamese financed a major upgrade of Vientiane's roads and of the river bank. Maybe development will also catch up with Savannakhet one day. At least the visionaries of ASEAN want to link Mukdahan to the port of Da Nang via Savannakhet.

Green coffee beans

Continuing north to Thakhek brought me to the highland famous for its coffee and this was quite interesting. I did, however, not have much time to spend there. So, I returned across the bridge to Nakhon Panom. To cross back into Thailand went very fast. The bureaucracy was very light and took less than half an hour to clear.

Rayong Beach Life

Rayong's beaches are an easy drive away from Bangkok. They are less crowded than Cha Am, Hua Hin, Bang Saen, and Jomtien and some beaches are of superb quality. I prefer those in Klaeng, especially the one just before one reaches the Laem Mae Phim beach, but you should do your own exploring.

Take a Stroll

Chonburi - Sri Racha

Sri Racha is an old fishing village and center for seaborne transport that has grown big. Off the coast is Koh Si Chang. That island provides natural shelter for ships and has for centuries been a stopping point for vessels going to or coming from Bangkok. Even before that, the shelter provided by the island also allowed transshipments to take place - cargoes were moved from large oceangoing vessels to barges that went up to Ayutthaya. Sri Racha therefore became the home to customs house and immigration authorities to handle the interaction with foreign merchant vessels.

Chinese Buddha?

Wat Ko Loi is located on a small island connected with the mainland by a 1.5 km long causeway. The temple mixes Thai style Buddha statues with Chinese religious icons. It is the center for many festivals during the year, including Loy Krathong. On the island, there are also concrete ponds with large turtles and it may bring you good luck to feed them.

Ang Sila is located north of Sri Racha, just south of Chonburi city. It is another old fishing village that has become a popular tourist destination. It is not amazing beaches that attract people, but a reputation for amazing seafood.

Bay at Ang Sila

Rayong - Ko Kloi Market

There are many fake "floating markets" in Thailand. The one in Rayong is the one with the least hassles. It is a relaxed place without annoying crowds. This may be because it is located out of sight behind a PTT gas station on Route 36 (roughly opposite Big C on Rayong ring road) near the Ko Kloi intersection.

Ko Kloi Market as the sun sets

The market opened in 2010 and its theme seems to be "Thailand as it once was". The wooden houses encircling a pond are in old traditional style and so are many of the decorations. Shops and restaurants offer traditional Thai food (and modern coffee) served with "ancient flavor", e.g. in bowls made from coconut shells.

Scattered around are resting spots made up by rows of chairs from movie theaters 40-50 years ago. The atmosphere is very relaxed and family-friendly. Ko Kloi Market can definitely be recommended for Bangkokians stopping over on their way to / from Trat or Chantaburi. It is also a very nice destination for a dinner outside the rainy season.

More information can be found here:

http://taladkokloi.com/home.php