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November 2016
PIZZA Authentic Italian Pizza in Ubon
KHONG CHIAM HOURS MARKET IN UBON Real Thai coffee STYLISH STAYS Sedhapura by Tohsang DISCOVER UBON A visit of discovery FARM TOURISM Experience 100% Thai farm lifestyle FIRED UP Build a brick oven
If rolled eyesofand chorus ofGroup “Beenproduced there. for Gofolded Ubon arms, is a publication TheaEssential Done that!” tells you its time to book a trip to a Go Ubon - the travel experts in Ubon Ratchathaniplace province, where mass tourismand hasisnot yet arrived. It’s time to Go northeast Thailand, published quarterly. Ubon! Go Ubon is an interactive digital magazine for the adventurous But whatinspired does Ubon have to offer? is an traveller, by the team behindGo GoUbon Ubon,e-zine an organization independent digital publication providing inspiration for tasked with scouring Ubon Ratchathani in search of unusual, ainteresting new generation of travellers, and old. We are and inspirational travelyoung experiences. passionate about introducing our readers’ to the diversity of travel and lifestyle in the “Royal City of the We’ve combined our experiences unrivalled first-hand knowledge of Ubon Lotus”. Go Ubon issues feature stylish stays, adventure with leading-edge interactive technology to create a groundpicks, authentic recipes andofmore. breaking guide toIsaan Ubon, the soul Isaan. The e-zine has, and will continue to present the unique Ubon lifestyle and culture; it supports businesses andthe presents Whether you’re looking small for a weekend with crowdsthe at lively best choices. local travel markets or a life-changing adventure, our aim is provide you with the inspiration to make it happen. Let’s go Ubon! Go Ubon is brought to you by a dedicated team of Thai tourism professionals with a passion for Ubon.
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Ubon estate on the rise Stylishreal stays in Ubon Kite flying at Srindhorn DamUbon streets Top 10 tasteful treats from Yummy local Isaan cuisine Khong Chiam Market Meet a local Real Thai Coffee: Isaan-style MICE Ubon Buy a Buffalo
The Essential Group EDITOR EDITOR Athikom AJ Jeerapairotekun Athikom AJ Jeerapairotekun RESEARCHER RESEARCH Jeerapairotekun NikiNichari J. EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Go Go Ubon team EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Ubon team PUBLISHER Hype Global PUBLISHER
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72 hours Big Isaan urban life in Ubon city centre, sacred temples and som tum roadside restaurants all jostle for space in Ubon’s rich cultural landscape. During my recent return to Ubon I went to find out what makes Ubon tick in just 72 hours.
Okay, so I didn’t have much time in Ubon but I still wanted to see all the major sights of the city and countryside...and still live the true Isaan lifestyle, all in just 72 hours. Impossible you say? Not at all, and believe it or not with just 72 hours in Ubon and the surrounds, you won’t have to rush it either. I suggest staying outside of the city at the V Hotel situated at 63 Cheangsanit Road in Nai Muang Subdistrict of Ubon. Clean, comfortable, rated highly on social media and good value. The perfect base to explore Ubon far and wide. V Hotel is a no-frills, neat, clean and fantastic value hotel and standout amongst the other hotels in Ubon for me. So I hand landed on the morning flight from Bangkok with AirAsia and after exiting the airport, several taxis were lined up outside the arrivals hall. I negotiated a fare of 200 Baht and the cab driver whisked me to V Hotel. I probably paid more for the taxi than a local but it was very convenient, ready for me and I wanted to get to the hotel as quickly as possible. I then struck a deal with a driver and car hire for 1,500 a day with me paying gasoline. I had heard about the picturesque Sirindhorn Dam and the sleepy rustic villages that surround the sprawling reservoir. So I jumped in the car and we set off on an adventure to Sirindhorn. On the way we came to the dusty town of Phiboon Mangsaharn. After an hour of walking around the market, I headed to the nearby river rapids called Kaeng Saphue. A lady in one of the open-air restaurants said she would make her specialty - a bowl of prawn salad that apparently many foreigners enjoy. The dish received my two thumbs up. The prawns were succulent and the salad with rice made the perfect combination.
My hotel in Ubon. Nice room. Seems that the hotel is quite new. Basic, clean and comfortable. And for under 1,000 Baht a night it was an ideal base to explore Ubon. Below is the yummy dish of prawn salad. An unexpected delicious surprise.
Ubon is a province of renowned Buddhist temples, so I wanted to visit at least one during my short stay. So early evening, as the sunset at 6.30pm, I headed overt to the hilltop temple overlooking Sirindhorn Dam
A magical start to the evening at the serene and desolate hilltop temple overlooking Sirindhorn Dam.
As far as Thai destinations go, Ubon is tough to beat. It’s renowned for its rich culture with countless temples, reservoir-side golf course, spicy Som Tum and other Isaan delicacies, and its warm, inviting folk. Ubon is great value and well worth experiencing. It should be a bucket list destination for even the most jaded eco- traveller. My return to Ubon was one of the most enjoyable trips I’ve ever been on, despite the tastes, sights and sounds being confined to 72 hours. Niki J, October 2016
Royal City of the Lotus
Anybody who has ever observed a lotus flower emerging from a murky pond cannot fail to see the beauty of this exquisite plant. The flower always looks so clean and pure against the background of the dirty pond. Because of this the lotus flower has come to be associated with purity and beauty in the religions of Buddhism and Hinduism. The Lotus flower actually emerges from a pond over a three-day period and then blooms in the morning until midafternoon.
Here’s a snippet of history; In 1779, King Taksin gave a northeastern Thai city and province it’s name ‘Ubon Ratchathani’ meaning ‘Royal City of the Lotus’.
If you’re an adventurous traveller, what would you wish to discover in Ubon? Adventurous explorers planning to visit Ubon, and take the road less travelled, are in for a treat, with a list of lots to see sites and places to visit. Being a multi-cultural city with Lao, Khmer, Vietnamese and Chinese influences, ‘the City of the Royal Lotus’ is an excellent destination for foodies to enjoy delicious local cuisine and rich culture. Outside of the city they can visit the famed Emerald Triangle; the verdant corner where Thailand, Cambodia and Laos meet. Here are some must visit places on an adventurous traveller’s “To do” list when visiting Ubon. Ubon Ratchathani National Museum Originally built in 1918 as the City Hall, the building now functions as a museum, which encompasses the history, geology and ethnology of Ubon Ratchathani and its surrounding areas. The pride of the museum is a 9th century stone image of Ardhanarisvara. Wat Phra Tat Nong Bua This obelisk-like temple looks nothing like any other temple you’ve seen in Thailand. The modern pyramid-shaped temple (built in 1957) took its architectural cue from
Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya, India, where the Buddha achieved enlightenment. A landmark of Ubon, this spire manages to shine with its own individual style. Wat Ban Na Mueang Temple Inside the temple grounds is a replica of a Suphannahong Royal Barge (the Golden Swan) this is one of the most outstanding temples in Ubon in terms of unusual architecture. Monastery Stay at Wat Pah Nanachat Check in to peace and serenity and check out from your busy schedule and modern gadgets with sessions of meditation and prayer beads, and you might see a different side of Thailand not many others have ever seen. A few days of the simple lifestyle in the middle of the forest will hone your mindfulness and not to mention gain you new friends of different nationalities. Kaeng Saphue It is said that visiting Ubon Ratchathani is incomplete if you haven’t visited Kaeng Saphue. People come to this spot to take in the view as the rapids rush through rock outcrops, creating splashes and swells along the way.
Sam Phan Bok The Mekong River is the artist, and the rocks are its canvases. Holes of various shapes resulting in a unique topographical alien-esque landscape can only be accessed during dry season (around December – April) as they are hidden underwater for the rest of the year. Pha Taem National Park The closest you’ll get to prehistoric artists is in this 340-square-kilometre park, where they left behind 300 cave paintings more than 3,000 years ago. Climb to the top for a vista of Laos, refresh at the waterfalls or view Thailand’s largest flower field, which blooms from October to December. Ratchabut Night Market The place comes to life at dusk as street vendors open their stalls selling a wide variety of local favourites as well
8. Huai Luang Waterfall – One of the best waterfalls I have seen in Thailand. You will find this spectacle in the southeast region of the province. It is well worth all the steps you have to ascend when you are leaving. 9. Pakse, Laos Killing two birds with one stone, flashpackers can hop over to Pakse in Southern Laos for a day trip. Home to the Khmer empire ruins Wat Phu and the islands near the Cambodian border, known as Si Phan Don, this makes for a great eco-tourism day out. 10. Sirindhorn Dam An expansive reservoir covering 288 square kilometres, situated around 70 kilometres East of Ubon Ratchathani. The area has lots to offer, with sleepy rustic villages and waterfront restaurants to explore. So, discover your sense of adventure, book the air ticket and escape to Ubon for a weekend getaway or a one week vacation. There is lots to see and do in Ubon Ratchathani.
FARM VISITS IN UBON RATCHATHANI
Farm visits is one of the fastest growing sectors in the eco-tourism industry. Farm tourism, which is also known as “agritourism,” has been defined as the opportunities for tourists to “visit and sometimes participate in the working activities of farms and ranches”. There is nothing new about this form of travel, which involves visiting a farm or other agriculture-oriented property and perhaps even sampling the day-to-day lifestyle of the people who tend the crops or livestock there. On some farms in Ubon Ratchathani, that welcome tourists, the goal is less about providing a unique vacation and more about fostering a deeper understanding of the farming process through education and hands-on experience. Farm Tourism is rapidly being embraced as a strategy to conserve the family farm, increase revenue, and educate the public about authentic Thai farming life. Family-run farms and permaculture projects in Ubon are becoming attractive tourist destinations because more visitors are nostalgic for a “simpler” time. They want to escape the hustle of city life and connect with Thailand’s natural and cultural heritage, enjoying a richer and authentic leisure experience. Tourists want to learn, connect with meaning, and meet genuine Thai communities engaged in a authentic agricultural lifestyle.
Farm tourism in Ubon Ratchathani is being developed as a relatively new tourism product. Ubon, being an agricultural dominated province, has tremendous potential for developing Farm Tourism in a big way without much additional investment. Rice paddy cultivation, fruits and livestock are the mainstay of farming in Ubon. Farm stays are a unique tourism option if you want a real taste of rustic, authentic Thai farm life. Roll up your sleeves and be prepared to pitch in! Visit Ubon for a farm visit. Itineraries are flexible. Guests may choose from a range of farm activities depending on each farm and their individual ability. Spend the day feeding the farm animals, spotting wildlife, fruit picking, cooking rustic Thai dishes, hand-held horse-riding, swimming in Sirindhorn reservoir, gardening or weeding, enjoying unique taste from the forest kitchen. Many of our farmers love to also take guests sightseeing to nearby waterfalls, national park locations and a variety of farms. And of course, we cannot forget eating! Many guests have referred to Ubon farm experience as a unique “eating tour” as there is nothing like authentic Thai Isaan food on the farm, using locally grown produce. And a visit to the local market where locally grown produce is traded is an eye-opener with some unusual foodstuff on offer. Ubon Ratchathani is jam-packed with things to do. The hardest part of planning your farm holiday will be deciding which to do first! Exploring Ubon’s magnificent landscape and water’s edge around the sprawling Sirindhorn Dam reservoir tops the list for many. If eco-adventure is your game, there’s a long list of authentic Niki J. aj@hypeb.com activities to discover...at a farm in Ubon.
On the banks of the Mekong River, overlooking the mountains of Laos dominating the horizon, there is a hotel designed for travellers seeking serenity and seclusion within beautiful surroundings. Tohsang Sedhapura, the sister hotel of Tohsang Khongjiam Hotel, in the same neighbourhood, offers four luxurious pool villas as an oasis of luxury in Isaan. Each of Sedhapura’s villa offers great views of the river and surrounding scenery, with villas decorated in fusion of Thai-Lao style. Three of the villas are single storey, hidden within the resorts butterfly-filled gardens. Each villas has its own private jacuzzi pool. The fourth villa is a bi-level duplex suite, offering guests home-away-from-home comfort, with a spacious living area downstairs and a king sized bed on the upper floor. Sedhapura was named after the ancient Khmer Kingdom that dates back thousands of years and stretched from Cambodia and embraced Ubon. Sedhapura is located one hour from Ubon Ratchathani city in the eastern province and is perfect for honeymooners or couples looking for an exotic off-the-beaten-track retreat in a relatively remote part of Thailand.
THAI flies daily to Ubon, smooth as silk. For more information and offers please contact your travel agents and THAI sales offices or visit www.thaiairways.com
New Bike Tour Our friends at Latis Farm, on the edge of Baan Kham Khom village, have launched a half-day eco cycling tour around the rustic village and waterfront at Sirindhorn Dam. Designed for everyone who can ride a bike. The team at Latis operated tours, as part of a pilot project, during the busy Songkran holiday period. Following the success of the six sell-out tours, Village Bike Tour (VBT) plan to launch their bike tours in April 2017. Inspired by the spirit of back to nature and reconnecting with people, tours last three hours and the initial plan is to operate three times a week; starting at 8.00am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with a Thai and English speaking tour leader. As the terrain is mostly flat, the bike tour is suited to everyone, even the most inexperienced cyclist and “coach potatoes”. Each tour has a maximum of10 persons and invites you to feel the beat of the village lifestyle and meet the locals. The route around the village is well planned with ample rest stops along the way that include a taste of Som Tum, the spicy Thai papaya salad, a express neck and shoulder massage, wood furniture making, observing the cooking of fish Thai soufflé baked in bamboo with a tasty sampler, and visit to the village temple. The team behind Latis have plans to offer two routes located around Sirindhorn Dam reservoir. With Village Bike Tour, participants get an insiders look into rural life and meet some of colourful characters living in the village. AJ, organiser of the activity commented “Our village bike tours are intimate, leisurely bike rides with established locals who love sharing stories about our village Join us for an easy ride!” Well-planned back roads and easy-pedal routes ensure you don’t have to be a regular rider to enjoy it. Advance booking will be required and tour participants will gather at Latis, on the edge of Baan Kham Khom
village, at 7.30am for an 8.00am start. “Bring camera, sunglasses, sunscreen and comfortable cycling clothes� advises AJ. You can expect to arrive back at Latis around noon. There are also plans to introduce an afternoon - sunset tour, starting at 4.00pm. The half day tour costs THB 1,299 per person and includes an experienced guide, a bike that is less than one year old, helmet (mandatory), drink bottle and electrolyte drink supplements, refreshment stops along the way, and technical support with bike spares. For details of Village Bike Tour launching in April 2017, email AJ at aj@hypeb.com
THB 1,299 per person 3-hour tour Easy pedal route for everyone Start at 8.00am Refreshments included Launching in October 2016 villagebiketour@outlook.com
Photo of the month was taken by Khun Bee during a visit to Sirindhorn Dam. She got up early and took this photo at 6.30am as the sun rose across Sirindhorn Dam, casting a warm glow across the water. Bee used a Samsung Galaxy Note to capture the sunrise. We invite you to send in your photos of Ubon and the best will be published in future issues. Photos should be larger than 3MB and smaller than 10MB size in jpeg format. We will share your photos of Ubon with the world. Email aj@hypeb.com
r hotel of Tohsang Khongjiam Hotel, in the same neighbourhood, offers four luxurious pool villas as an oasis of luxury in Isaan. Each of Sedhapura’s villa offers great views of the river and surrounding scenery, with villas decorated in fusion of Thai-Lao style. Three of the villas are single storey, hidden within the resorts butterfly-filled gardens. Each villas has its own private jacuzzi pool. The fourth villa
LOCAL COFFEE BAAN DAAN MARKET Staying at Sirindhorn Dam, we got up early to visit Baan Daan market at Kong Chiam. It’s a small market, open from 6am til noon, and is brimming with local produce. We took the opportunity to enjoy a glass of Thai coffee. Much more potent that Starbucks, it gave us a boost for the day ahead exploring national park , waterfront villages and temples.
Thai coffee might not be as famous as some other international blends, but there is still some excellent coffee to be found in Thailand. If you wake up early enough, make your way to Khong Chiam’s morning market next to the bus stop at the corner of Moo 1 and Highway 2173. Amidst the piles of freshly foraged wild mushrooms and greens, hand-pounded chill pastes and fish freshly caught from the river, including plaa buek, giant Mekong catfish, grilled sweetened sticky rice in banana leaves, barbecued pork spare ribs, grilled chicken and sausage, and fresh fruit for breakfast, you will find a few small shops brewing up fresh coffee. Sit at one of the polished concrete tables and sip on the sweet coffee, guaranteed to get you going for the day. Traditional Thai coffee has an almost mocha taste and it is sweet, very sweet. Ground coffee goes into a cloth bag and boiling water is poured in. This liquid is strained and poured again through the ground coffee, creating a very strong brew.
A burning desire in Ubon. Our friends at Latis farm had a burning desire to build a brick oven. Here they share with us their story behind building a pizza oven. Ovens made from bricks, Terracotta tiles and stone date back centuries and some of the finest examples were discovered during archaeological excavations at Pompeii. These well preserved ovens demonstrated excellent engineering skill. Searching the web, the Latis team found an excellent site with an easy to follow step-by-step pictorial guide to building your own domed Pompeii oven. So, they were all set to build their own domed wood-fired oven. Refractory bricks used to line furnaces, special high heat mortar to bond the bricks and a masonry cutter to shape the bricks were ordered from Bangkok and delivered to the Sirindhorn Dam site. Help from the nearby village was recruited and tasked with construction, under a watchful eye of the Latis team. It was a jigsaw puzzle of fitting the bricks together to form a dome with the thinnest joints. As the on-line plans are heavy on photos and light on instructions, the villagers pulled a rabbit out of the hat with this build. The masterpiece was fired up using wood and charcoal and after half-an-hour, the inside was soaring to furnace temperatures. A few test runs to gauge the amount of logs needed and a three log oven is enough to roast a turkey or guinea fowl so that the meat is drop-off-the-bone tender.
“Mamma mia!” Spago Italian restaurant in Ubon city is a unexpected dining delight. Franco, the Italian expat owner, makes tasty original Italian pizza, cooked in a wood fired oven. Franco says “The way we cook our food, and especially pizza, is the same as you will find in Napoli where pizza originated. The pizza menu includes classics such as Martguerita, Vegitariana, and Neopolitana to special pizzas, such as Spago, the house signature pizza which includes spinach, hot-dog, ham and pepperoni sausage. For the more adventurous, try Spago’s Killer with the tomato sauce, mozzarella, ham, prawn and chill powder topping. Spago is open Monday to Friday from 11.00am to 2.30pm and from 5.00pm to 10.00pm. On weekends the restaurant is open from 11am through to 10pm. Spago is located at 420 Chaengsanit Road, Ubon city centre. Call +66 45 281 100 to make a reservation or order delivery, alas, only within a 7 km. radius of the restaurant.
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