My goal for today is to head out of Surin to Ubon Ratchathani, with the main stop being a temple in Sisaket made from recycled glass bottles.
I got another early morning start, but not a voluntary one. Some very noisy birds decided to perch on my balcony and wake me up. Can’t win sometimes! I got up, got coffee, got some writing done and processed some photos. Before long I was ready to roll and I was out of the hotel at a reasonable time.
I found a place that served breakfast, and was fairly close to my hotel. It was not the sort of place I expected, and is quite nice inside; exquisite, some might say. For breakfast I had pan fried eggs (ไข่กระทะ) which had a couple of fried eggs buried under a couple types of Thai sausage, ham, and green onion. I would order it again!
This was the first time that I’ve ever had a bottle of water brought to the table soon after I sat down (but hadn’t ordered). They cracked it, and poured it over ice, with a straw with paper over the end. I was charged for it, but hadn’t drank it at all. Sometimes I don’t order a drink because I literally have eight half-consumed bottles of water in my car. They were a bit confused at the end when I pointed to it in the bill, and asked for it to be changed. It was changed.
After that, I was off to fuel up, and find my first destination. It was a wat nearby in the province of Sisaket (or Si Sa Ket), maybe a half hour away, and it had looked interesting. On the main highway, I think I missed the turn. I don’t have audio alerts because Google Maps would alert me to every turn, which in some areas would be annoying. Normally I check frequently.
Google Maps decided I should explore the local rice paddies, but I didn’t know it was going to do that. I was looking for a place to turn around because all of a sudden I am on a dirt track in between paddies. The farmer may have been wondering why the hell a farang was there. He had a look of confusion/amusement on his face.
I managed to find a turnaround and, mistakenly, consulted Google Maps. Back to the highway. Once again I was headed to a rice paddy, and just gave up. This wat will be a mystery to me, I guess. Maybe next time.
Encounter with street dogs
My next destination was Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew (Wat Lan Khuad), a temple made of glass bottles. It didn’t take long to get there; only about a 1/2 hour.
From the sign: “Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew (Wat Larn Kuad)
Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew, also known as Wat Larn Kuad, is a rather unconventional Buddhist temple in Sisaket. The temple itself is made of over 1 million discarded glass bottles donated by the public. Others highlight includes the pavilion called ‘Sala Thansmo Maha Jedikaew” and an Ubosoth located in the middle of a pond.”
This temple had almost no one there, except for some monks. The visitors there when I arrived, soon left, and it was me, the looming storm, the temple, and a pack of street dogs. Almost immediately I witnessed a standoff between a couple of dogs. This should be interesting.
I proceeded around the temple grounds. Unfortunately it was a grey, dreary day, with dark clouds nearby. I needed to be quick here! The temple was interesting, but they need to clean the floors! Birds are obviously an issue here. They had some netting to try to keep the pigeons out.
I spotted a huge butterfly with some iridescent blue patches. I just couldn’t get a decent photo of it. Butterflies don’t stop much in Thailand, and they are fast! I got a video screen grab, and not a good one.
The lightning was starting, and the rumbling too, so I began to head for the exit. Apparently the dogs decided to harass me on the way out. I was circled by a half-dozen of them. It was one of the rare times I have been nervous about Soi dogs. They were growling and circling me and, just as I thought I was going to have to start booting them, a monk showed up and shooed them away. Thank you! 🙏🏻
I made it back to the car with no issues, and just in time. I was putting my camera away in my bag as the skies opened up.
Moving on to Ubon Ratchathani
It was time to head to Ubon Ratchathani, the capital of the province, with the same name. Are all the provinces like that in Thailand? I think so! I would have stayed in the city of Sisaket, but this route was a lot easier to do.
The drive was good overall, but the storm grew worse and I had to take it easy for a while. Visibility was not good with this rain. It was a bit crazy at times.
In no time I reached Ubon Ratchathani and found my hotel, which was a Hop Inn, of course! I’m a gold member now, and that means I get a free snack or drink with every booking. I already got the 5% discount. Would be nice if it went up to 10% off!
I think that’s 60 provinces for me now, but I will have to check and see the official count.
I relaxed for a while, searched for restaurants, and decided on Peppers, which served a mix of Thai and western food. Tonight’s dinner choice was pork cordon bleu with German potato salad. It was really good, and satisfying. Can never go wrong with potato salad!
I was debating going back to the hotel, but decided to check out a temple I planned to go to the next day. I am so glad I did! The temple was nicely lit up, as were the two colourful naga statues nearby.
I was really happy I decided to come here tonight! It’s pretty spectacular! Well cared for too. They were also preparing another statue of some sort; maybe a parade float? It was on a trailer, and they were forming the outer part of the statue out of wax! I watched about a half dozen people forming the statue, and doing some carving. I would like to see the finished product!
Overall, a pretty good day. I wouldn’t mind heading to Sisaket again to explore a bit more.
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