Thailand For Visitors

Ubon Ratchathani

Ubon Ratchathani

Ubon Ratchathani, or just 'Ubon' for short, is Thailand's eastern-most province, bordered by Laos to the east and Cambodia to the south. The city was founded, officially, in the late eighteenth century during the reformation of Siam after the sacking of Ayutthaya by the Burmese.

Sculpture in Thung Si Muang park
A candle sculpture in Thung Si Muang park

The city doesn't have a lot to offer tourists. There aren't any 'must see' sights in the city itself, and no tourist infrastructure to help you get to some of the interesting places elsewhere in the province. The main draws to Ubon are its annual candle festival held at the beginning of the Buddhist 'lent' period, and as a gateway to Southern Laos. See the map for an overview of the sights there are to see.

In this section

City Pillar

Ubon Ratchathani city pillar shrine The city pillar shrine is right next to the National Museum, in a large park that occupies the center of the city. The pillar and its shrine are relatively modern, built in the early 1970s as part of a government campaign to have pillars in all provincial capitals. You'll find people making offerings to the shrine, hoping for some favor, at almost any time of day.

Getting There

The Ubon Ratchathani Bus Terminal Ubon Ratchathani is rather well connected to the rest of Thailand, and especially Bangkok. It's the 'end of the line' for one branch of the northeastern rail lines, as well as about as far east as you can go by bus. Plane: You can reach Ubon by plane from Bangkok via the national carrier Thai Airways, and budget carriers Air Asia and Nok Air. All of the carriers generally have two flights a day to and from Ubon's airport, which is just on the edge of downtown.

Hotels

There isn't a huge selection of hotels in Ubon Ratchathani. Within the city there a just a few locally run hotels, most of them decidedly tourist class. A couple of good central choices are listed below. Dusita Parkview Hotel Located out past the airport, which makes this a good place to overnight if you're in transit. Sri Isan Hotel Definitely a budget option, but very close to the middle of town, just a block or two from the riverside.

Map

Map of central Ubon Ratchathani The city of Ubon Ratchathani is laid out along the Moon River. Most of the sights of the city are in and around the 'central park' called Thung Si Muang. The sights include the Ubon branch of the National Museum as well as a giant golden replica of one of the city's famous candles. Three of the city's temples are interesting for a visit: Wat Sri Ubon Rattanaram, facing Thung Si Muang, is one of the most important temples and home to a Buddha image carved of topaz.

National Museum

Ubon Ratchathani National Museum The Ubon branch of the Thailand national museum system is housed in the old city hall building, originally constructed in 1918. A new city hall was built in the late 1960s. The old building was restored and opened as a museum in 1989. While the museum is small, it still contains a fairly complete and wide ranging collection, covering much of the history and culture of the area.

Restaurants

The food stalls of Ubon Ratchathani's night market Ubon is well off the main tourist trail, so there's something of a dearth of tourist-friendly restaurants outside of the hotels. For the adventurous, there's a 'night market' of food stalls on the corner of Ratchabut and Kuan Thani streets, next to the National Museum. The collection of street-food carts is open every night from sunset onwards. There are lots of tables where you can sit to eat.

Sri Isan Hotel

December 2011 My room at the Sri Isan hotel. The Sri Isan Hotel is in a great location, but it's a bit of a disappointment. The old small hotel could be a charming boutique accommodation, despite the tiny rooms. But instead it's a very dumpy place that hasn't been cleaned properly in years. The bathrooms had mold in the grout, which could have been easily removed with some bleach and a little elbow grease.

Tohsang City Hotel

December 2011 My room at the Tohsang City hotel in Ubon Ratchathani. The Tohsang Hotel in Ubon is a nice solid option for accommodations in the city. It isn't the most central location, it's a healthy walk to the Thung Si Muang park in the center of town, but for the comfort it's probably a small price to pay. The hotel is larger than it appears from the street. From the somewhat dowdy lobby, it rambles back through several buildings linked by elevated covered walkways.

Ubon Ratchathani Central Park

The huge golden replica of a wax sculpture in the middle of Ubon Ratchathani's Thung Si Muang central park. Near the middle of downtown Ubon is a large park. The National Museum and City Pillar are at the south end of the park. It also has a fitness area that includes a few weight machines as well as basketball courts. In the center of the park is a giant gold-painted replica of a typical candle float from the annual candle festival (usually in July).

Wat Sri Ubon Rattanaram

The ordination hall of Wat Sri Ubon Rattanaram Wat Sri Ubon Rattanaram is just across a busy street from the National Museum, and it's one of the more important temples in the city. The large ordination hall houses a small Buddha image carved from topaz. The hall itself is modelled on Bangkok's Wat Bejamabophit.

Wat Tai

Wat Tai is probably better known for the 'beach' of the small island in the Moon River near the temple than for the actual religious structure. However, the temple itself is worth a look for its unusual grounds and decoration. The original temple dates from 1779, but most of the structures dates from very recent times. Sculptures around a shrine. The temple compound is crammed with sculptures, covering all the mythical creatures from Hindu lore, which Buddhism inherited.

Wat Thung Sri Muang

The ancient library of Wat Thung Sri Muang Built around 1829, Wat Thung Sri Muang is most noted for it's old library, or Ho Trai. The large wooden structure sits in the center of a rectangular pond filled with lotus flowers. This was common for libraries within temples. The scriptures were written on palm leaves, which are highly susceptible to insect damage. Placing the building over water helped to isolate it from the bugs.

Like all of Thailand, Ubon Ratchathani has three seasons: the "cool" season from November to February, the "hot" season from March to May, and the "rainy" season from June to October. The cool season is the traditional time to visit, but it's also when sights will be the most crowded, and hotel rates the highest. Conventional wisdom has it that the rainy season is the worst time to come, but this is not necessarily true.