Asian Sojourn 8: Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand (travel of 13-14 Jul 2025)

From Nepal, we took a night flight to Thailand. It seemed like a good idea at the time, though I admit that the 3 a.m. transfer in Bangkok is only a vague impression in my memory, and we were both a little befuddled wandering around Ubon Ratchathani at 8 a.m., wondering when we could go back and get ourselves a nap!

If you want a taste of Thailand without the sense of city urgency, Ubon Ratchathani is a convenient stop for the traveler. It worked well for us since you can easily catch a bus over to Laos (which was next on our plan!), and it is a bit calmer (I’m told) than Bangkok. The city is known for its long tradition of temple scholarship and for the crafts and rituals surrounding the annual Candle Festival.

The humidity was high, but the traffic was certainly more ordered than what we’d seen in Nepal, and that first morning, we found ourselves a nice airconditioned coffee shop and slurped our way into consciousness. To adjust to the weather, we tended to walk in the mornings and evenings, and nap during the afternoons. And Nissa did her long training run while I went birding, so we managed to fit in several different kinds of adventures across our 48 hours!

The architecture was quite different from that of Nepal – more "hot flame" type curls to the rooflines; more ornament; more gilt. We spent both days wandering around enjoying the parks and the Wats and temples. To my friends and family: yes, it is in fact possible for me to go to a city and not tour a museum. That’s because I was caught up in the joys of exterior architecture!

Cynthia and Nissa, jaunting around Ubon's many Wats!

We also lucked out and were in the city for the tail end of the illuminations festival, with decorative lights at a dozen key city destinations. The brilliant colors and gentle shadings enlivened the architecture, and several sound installations provided soothing tempi and a new-age vibe to the destinations.

We actually did a bit of shopping, and had dinner at the night market. My big discovery was watermelon slushies. They might just be my new favorite drink.

Big C Supercenter

The Thung Sri Muang Night Market with all of its abundance.

One of the most interesting sights was the Hor Trai, or manuscript library, of Wat Thung Si Mueang. It is on stilts in the water to avoid bug invasions, and inside the scrolls are wrapped in bright bits of fabric

And, of course, we saw the markers of sound, but not the sounds themselves.In other words, we saw plenty of temple drums and gongs, but we never happened to be there when they were sounding.

In all, we found Ubon to be both picturesque and relaxing; I wouldn’t mind going back sometime – perhaps when I’ve slept the night before!

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RESOURCES

• Travel to Thailand is relatively easy as US citizens; instead of a Visa, one applies for a Thailand Digital Arrival Card, which we were able to do on our phones. We also got eSims (from trip.com) so had plenty of data

• Details of things to do and navigational guidance are available at https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Ubon_Ratchathani – a very handy tool!

• We stayed at Hotel Phadaeng, which is less then ten minutes from 7-minute walk from Thung Si Muang Park. They had a luggage drop-off which let us wander around unencumbered while waiting on a reasonable check-in time.

• We ate at the Thung Sri Muang Night Market – and recommend that you do too!

• We took an Uber out to the Big C Supercenter to do some shopping (and to arrange for our bus tickets to Pakse, Laos). We ate at the food court there. So many interesting food choices!

Asian Sojourn 6: Monkeys and Heights in Sacred Nepal (Travel of 11-13 Jul 2025)

It’s Nepal. If there’s a hill, there’s probably a temple, or a stupa, or a destination atop it. If there’s a monkey, there are probably more monkeys. Combine them and you have what we often refer to as “the monkey temple,” more properly the Swayambhunath Stupa in Nepal.

It’s a great morning destination if you need to get your step count. It’s a cardio workout if you take the stairs at speed. Or you can join the group that does stretching and various calisthenics up top. Or pray. Or consider the world around you.

For us, the temple was about a 45 minute walk from our hotel (which, I remind you, was right near Kathmandu Durbar Square). The walk out was pleasant, with enough incline to warm you up, but not so much to leave you panting, until the time that you start the actual climb.

The climb, though. Yikes. It’s a lot of “up,” all in a row.

But you can interrupt your hill-climb at any point “to take pictures.” Sure, sure, it’s only the photo ops that make you want a break. But the pictures are sure cute:

The climb, though, is not so cute unless you’ve been training. So slow down, and take in the scenery. Afterall, the prayer flags are abundant, and the statuary colorful. You’ve got a lot to keep you distracted

The view at the top is a mix of the splendid and the surprising. “Go to Kathmandu and see the varieties of exercise” wasn’t actually on my what-to-expect-while-traveling list, but then, that’s why we travel; to see how people live their lives.

We were there in monsoon season, and rain can bring rainbows.

Did I mention rain? Yeah, there was some serious monsoon rain. Back at “home” near Durbar square, we decided to hang out inside one afternoon to let the squall pass.

Another time, we didn’t plan so well, and had the opportunity to wring out our clothes. Like doing laundry, but without the soap. Or the washing machine. Just water from the sky.

In all, the experiences of Kathmandu were quite compelling. As a close to today’s post, I wanted to share one more clip, this from the city proper. While out for a morning stroll (and birding amble), I did actually catch part of the morning prayers – sacred singing, by ordinary people, going about their business, in the early morning start-of-day. I respect the grounding in the sacred, even though it’s not my practice. 

Asian Sojourn 5: Pokhara, Nepal (travel of 7-11 July 2025)

Pokhara is a tourist’s dream; so many things to do, so many activities to undertake, so many people to get to know.

We didn’t do that.

Instead, we took on Pokhara as an outdoor delight, getting up and doing dawn walks (thank you, jetlag!), hiking up a mountain (wherever you are, that’s the adventure you’re having), hiding out in cafes getting work done (deadlines are a thing!).

We even captured some of that in pictures! First, we had two scenic hotels, both brilliantly beautiful. The first (Vagabond Guest House) looked in on a bird-filled courtyard; the second (Hotel Forest Lake Backpackers’ Hostel) had a view of the lake:

Skies and landscapes were wonderful any time of day:

 

Hiking uphill has a lot to recommend it. To be honest, we only went halfway up, but that was a couple of serious hours of “up,” and a joyous hike of discovery, with fabulous vistas as the payoff:

Sunset deserves a chapter all its own, and we spent one relaxing evening eating dinner by the lake, watching both the sunset and the sociable strolling scene. Ssssssplendid!

Scenery was a recurring theme; the rice paddies and the home-thatched roofs reminded us how hard people work.

We did take the cable car up the hill to Sarangkot, and got a great view of the valley – but as you can see, the clouds rolled in shortly thereafter and that was it for the big vista. Glad we did scenery before lunch!

We did do a little bit of hiding out and getting the to-do list under control. There are some mighty fine cafes to choose from, and the WiFi is bettter than what I have at home. (Ah, US rural internet, what I don’t miss about you!)

 In all, I’d recommend Pokhara as a destination -- for its beauty, for its serenity, and for the chance to operate at the tempo of the clouds.

 

Asian Sojourn 4: Nepal by bus (travel of 6 Jul 2025)

Part of the experience of a foreign country is getting to see the parts that don’t make it into the guidebook, and one of the best ways to do that is to take the bus.

No, seriously, take the bus.

We took the bus from Kathmandu to Pokara, and a different bus back. Yes, we went for the tourist bus; air-conditioning was non-negotiable. Both trips were great. The one there was during the daytime and so I have pictures. The one back, well, I didn’t take a night-cam; the trip is written into memory, but not into shareable memory. Though I did get a video before we left:

As you can see, there are oooooooodles of choices among the bus companies. So many options, both going and coming. Your hotel can help you make arrangements. Do you get steered to a particular company? Yes, but it’s still cheap, and you saved yourself stress.

So, why, you ask, should I take the bus, when I can get there faster by flying? Answer: the sights! So many sights!

The mountains are beautiful, but they were more often green than what I had in my imagination. So much beauty! But also, see the snow-capped peaks in the back? Yeah, we were super excited to see those. 

The bus stops every few hours for, er, the necessary. Bring your own toilet paper. Also, practice your deep knee bends before your trip; traveling you will thank you.

Happily, the bus also stops for breakfast. This was one of the best meals I had, which is probably because I was ravenous. But looooook at all those carbohydrates! With pepper and tasty stuff!

We did a lot of window gazing. Much of Nepal seems like it is a work-in-progress. Grotty roads and an emphasis on the cheaper side of transport reflects the country’s ongoing work on infrastructure, where aspiration has preceded achievement. 

Yet, to be honest, agriculture has beauty that’s separable but complimentary to the vertical beauty of the mountains, and I admit to a little touch of longing for home as we enjoyed the countryside.

So, like I said, take the bus!

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RESOURCES

To arrange for a bus, the easiest thing to do is just ask your hotel to help arrange it. Ours was about $16 each direction. For a 5 to 7 hour trip. No, I didn’t drop a digit.