Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Nong Khai Museum
MUSEUM
(Th Meechai; 8.30am-4pm Mon-Fri)
This little museum in the former city hall has little
more than old photographs, but there's enough English labelling to make it worth a few
minutes of your time; and the price is right.
DON'T MISS
SALA KAEW KU
One of Thailand's most enigmatic attractions, this
sculpture park
(admission 20B; 8am-6pm) is a surreal
journey into the mind of a mystic shaman. Built over a period of 20 years by Luang Pu Boun Leua Sourirat, who
died in 1996, the park features a weird and wonderful array of gigantic sculptures that merge Hindu and Buddhist
imagery.
As he tells his own story, Luang Pu tumbled into a hole as a child and met an ascetic named Kaewkoo, who in-
troduced him to the manifold mysteries of the underworld and set him on course to become a Brahmanic-yogi-
priest-shaman. Shaking up his own unique blend of Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, mythology and iconography,
Luang Pu developed a large following on both sides of the Mekong in this region. In fact, his original project was
on the Lao side of the river where he had been living until the 1975 communist takeover in Laos.
The park is a smorgasbord of large and bizarre cement statues of Buddha, Shiva, Vishnu and other celestial
deities born of Luang Pu's dreams and cast by workers under his direction. Some of the sculptures are quite
amusing. If you're travelling with kids, they'll enjoy the serene elephant wading though a pack of anthropo-
morphic dogs (which teaches people to not be bothered by gossip). The tallest sculpture, a Buddha seated on a
coiled
naga
with a spectacular seven-headed hood, is 25m high. Also of interest is the Wheel of Life, which you
enter through a giant mouth. An explanation is available on the back side of the handy map to the sculpture park
provided by Mut Mee Garden Guesthouse.
The main shrine building, almost as strange as the sculptures, is full of images of every description and proven-
ance (guaranteed to throw an art historian into a state of disorientation), photos of Luang Pu at various ages and
Luang Pu's corpse lying under a glass dome ringed by flashing lights.
All buses headed east pass the road leading to Sala Kaew Ku (10B), which is also known as Wat Kaek. It's
about a five-minute walk from the highway. Chartered túk-túk cost 150B return with a one-hour wait, or you can
reach it by bike in about 30 minutes. The Mut Mee map shows the scenic route. Near the entrance is a touristy
crocodile show
.
Activities
Thailand-wide organisations Isara (
Click here
)
and Open Mind Projects (
Click here
)
are
based in Nong Khai and have many volunteering opportunities available in the area. Isara
sometimes has short-term projects in Nong Khai city.
Khao Niao Tours
TOURS
