Udon Thani

When Barbara invited me to go on a short trip with her, I knew nothing about this area. Udon Thani is a small city near the border with Laos, not far from its capital, Vientiane. We took a mid-morning flight, just an hour, and got in before noon. It was the first time I had been on a prop plane in many years, but it wasn’t as loud as I’d expected. Our hotel, @Home at Udon, is small and situated right in the center of town. Our simple but comfortable rooms were on the ground floor, which was especially nice since there is no elevator. After getting some lunch at a restaurant across the street, we called a Grab (instead of Uber here) and went to the city museum. It is situated on a large lake with a wooded island containing walking trails. The building is beautifully renovated; this view is from the back.

The museum had a wide variety of exhibits, from archaeological to more recent times. During World War II the Allies had a base here, and during the Vietnam War, the US had a large air base. The effect of all those GIs on a small provincial town was remarkable. After they left, many local people emigrated, some to work in Saudi Arabia, others to areas in Thailand where they could find work. Another thing we learned was that Udon Thani basically means “north town.”

The area was once an inland sea. Salt was a major industry, and on Thursday we saw some places where they were still refining salt. These pots containing salt were on display. The crystals were very large.

There was a display of ancient artifacts found near here and I especially liked this stone carving.

At the back of the museum on the shore of the lake, we could look across to the island. This large pot seems to be a symbol of the area; it is based on ancient pottery found in archaeological digs.

A short walk away we visited a temple, Wat Pothisomphon. As in many, the stairs and walkways are bordered by a long snake body. This is the head of one.

We saw this very strange tree with round growths on tentacles coming out of the trunk. They ranged from very tiny to as big as a cantaloupe. When we prodded one on the ground, it was very heavy and solid. We haven’t been able to identify what it is.

This temple building was the site of a funeral. A nearby building had an open ground floor and many people were seated inside. These traditional Thai dancers were performing. While we stood behind some cars and watched, a woman came up and spoke to us. She said it was her mother’s funeral, but she took the time to speak nicely with us.

Looking over toward another temple building. You can see the snake bodies in this one.

After a return to the hotel and some rest time, we walked to a nearby mall to find some supper. They had the largest food court I’ve ever seen. But we ended up having salads at a pizza restaurant in another part of the mall.

This is only about a third of the food court!

We had a big day on Thursday, with much to see. Coming soon!