Sights in Ubon Ratchathani
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Ubon Ratchathani National Museum
Occupying the former city hall, this is a very informative museum with plenty on show, from Dvaravati-era Buddhist ordination-precinct stones and a 2500-year-old Dong Son bronze drum to Ubon textiles and betel-nut sets. The museum's most prized possession is a 9th-century Ardhanarisvara, a composite statue combining Shiva and his consort Uma into one being; one of just two ever found in Thailand.
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Wat Nong Pa Phong
Peaceful Wat Nong Pa Phong is known for its quiet discipline and daily routine of work and meditation. Dozens of Westerners have lived here over recent decades, and several still do. The wát features the golden chedi where Luang Pu Cha’s relics are interred and a three-storey museum displaying an odd assortment of items, from Luang Pu Ajahn Cha’s worldly possessions to world currencies to a foetus in a jar. The temple is about 10km past the river. Sŏrng·tăa·ou 3 gets you within 2km; a motorcycle taxi (if one is available) should cost 20B.
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Wat Thung Si Meuang
Wat Thung Si Meuang was built during the reign of Rama III (1824–51) and has a classic hŏr đrai (Tripitaka hall) in excellent shape. Like many hŏr đrai, it rests on tall, angled stilts in the middle of a pond to protect the precious scriptures (written on palm-leaf paper) from termites. It's kept open so you can look around inside. The 200-year-old murals in the little bòht beside the hŏr đrai show life in that era.
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Wat Ban Na Meuang
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 a sculpted 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 …
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Wat Si Ubon Rattanaram
The bòht at this important temple resembles Bangkok's Wat Benchamabophit, but it's the 7cm-tall topaz Buddha inside that most visitors come to see. Phra Kaew Butsarakham, as it's known, was reportedly brought here from Vientiane at Ubon's founding and is one of the city's holiest possessions. It sits behind glass high up the back wall, all but out of sight; bring binoculars if you have them. The image directly in front of the largest Buddha is a copy.
The temple has turned a beautiful old wooden săh·lah into a museum of religious items. The highlight is the collection of 18th-century đoô prá đraiЪìdòk, gorgeous boxes used for storing sacred palm-leaf texts. If yo…
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Wat Phra That Nong Bua
The richly adorned 55m chedi at this temple loosely resembles the Mahabodhi stupa in Bodhgaya, India. It's the only square stupa in Ubon Province unless you count the older one it was built over (you can enter to see the original between 8am and 6pm) or the four similar but smaller ones at the corners. Some of the jataka reliefs covering its exterior are quite expressive and two groups of four niches on each side of the chedi contain Buddhas standing in stylised Gupta or Dvaravati closed-robe poses. The temple is on the outskirts of town; to get there, take sŏrng·tăa·ou 10.
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Wat Supatanaram
Called Wat Supat for short, the unique bòht at this riverside temple, built between 1920 and 1936, features a Thai roof, European arches and a Khmer base. And, in contrast to other temple structures of the region, it's made entirely of stone. In front is a wooden bell, reputed to be the largest in the world.
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Golden Jubilee Art & Cultural Centre
There is a museum in the lower level of this striking contemporary Isan-design tower at Rajabhat University. There are some interesting cultural displays, particularly of houses and handicrafts. There’s also a whole lot of wax sculpture.
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Wat Jaeng
Found436around the same time as the city, Wat Jaeng has an adorable Lan Xang–style bòht (built in 1887) with large naga eave brackets on the sides, crocodiles on the railings and Airavata along with two mythical lions atop the carved wooden facade. A travelling market fills up the wàt grounds every Wednesday.
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Ubon Ratchathani Art & Culture Centre
The museum in the lower level of this striking contemporary Isan-design tower at Rajabhat University is more scattershot than the National Museum, but there are some interesting cultural displays, particularly of houses and handicrafts. There's also a whole lot of wax sculpture.
reviewed
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Thung Si Meuang
The centrepiece of this city-centre park is a huge concrete replica of a Candle Parade float. The humble brick obelisk in the northeast corner is the Monument of Merit, erected by former allied forces POWs (brought here for forced labour by the Japanese, who occupied Thailand during WWII) in gratitude for the secret assistance they received from ordinary Thai citizens while in the prison camps. The City Pillar Shrine (San Lak Meuang) is in the south.
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