Ubon Ratchathani

Why Go

An ancient city of beautiful lotuses, a two-coloured river, numerous temples and ancient Khmer ruins. It has lots of character with many ancient wooden houses still in use. Ubon also boasts two universities, which provide a young, energetic feel to the town, and the friendly, Lao-speaking locals go out of their way to welcome foreigners. It’s a set-off point for travelling to Southern Laos, with the border crossing point nearby.

Why Not

If you're not crossing in to southern Laos from Thailand, Ubon probably isn’t a destination you would go out of your way for unless you have a love of interesting temples.

To See

Although not on the main tourist trail, sleepy Ubon has a host of things to attract visitors; including a self-guided tour of the town's temples, or simply wandering around the ancient town centre which nestles on the banks of the Mae Nam Mun River ("Moon River").

How Long

A day here is enough to take in most of the key sights but it’s certainly a nice enough city to hang around for longer.

To Know

Royal Lotus City - commonly known as Ubon - has a population of 200,000 and is one of the 'big four' cities of the Northeast (Isaan). The three-hundred-year-old city has been the centre of many notable events in ancient Thai and Khmer history. In modern times it hosted a large US Air Base used during the Vietnam War. It is also a major centre for Buddhist learning, with two-dozen temples in the city alone. It became a popular place in the 1960's and 70's for westerners to come and study Buddhism; it still boasts the only temple in Thailand where English is the main language spoken.