Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( dawn-dusk)
Wat Sa Prasan Suk, as it's also known, stands out from other temples
in many ways. Most famously, the
bòht
sits on a boat: a ceramic-encrusted replica of King
Rama IX's royal barge
Suphannahong,
complete with crew. The
wí·hăhn
also has a boat-
shaped base, this one resembling the second-most important royal barge,
Anantanagaraj;
and it's surrounded by an actual pond. These were not just artistic endeavours: the water
represents our desires and the boats represent staying above them.
The commissioner of these creations, Luang Pu Boon Mi, died in 2001 and his body is
on display (they're waiting to finish building a museum before cremating him) in the
săh·lah
next to the boat
bòht.
Finally, to reach all of these you pass under an immense statue of Airavata (Erawan in
Thai), Hindu god Indra's three-headed elephant mount. The temple is north of the airport.
Sŏrng·tăa·ou
8 passes it, but you need to tell the driver you're going here or he won't
make the turn down the little road.
Wat Phra That Nong Bua
(Th Thammawithi; dawn-dusk)
The gleaming gold and white
chedi
at this temple
loosely resembles the Mahabodhi stupa in Bodhgaya, India, and inside is another beautiful
golden
chedi
(open 8am to 6pm). The latter was built in 1956 to honor of 2500 years of
Buddhism, and the 55m exterior went up over it 12 years later. It's the only square stupa
in Ubon Province unless you count the four similar but smaller ones at the corners. The
adjacent
wihan
vaguely resembles the Mahaparinirvana temple in Kushinagar, India,
where the Buddha died. It's on the outskirts of town; to get there, take
sŏrng·tăa·ou
10.
BUDDHIST TEMPLE
Ubon Ratchathani Art & Culture Centre
(Th Jaeng Sanit; 8.30am-4.30pm Mon-Sat)
The museum in the lower level of this striking
contemporary Isan-design tower at Rajabhat University is more scattershot than the Na-
tional Museum, but there are some interesting cultural displays, particularly of houses and
handicrafts. There's also a lot of wax sculpture.
MUSEUM
Wat Jaeng
BUDDHIST TEMPLE
(Th Nakhonban; dawn-dusk)
Founded around the same time as the city, Wat Jaeng has an ad-
orable Lan Xang-style
bòht
(built in 1887) with large
naga
-eave brackets on the sides,
crocodiles along the stairs and Airavata with two mythical lions atop the carved wooden
facade. A travelling market fills up the wàt grounds every Wednesday.
