The golden splendour of Wat Phra That Phanom

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Our next destination was That Phanom, another small town on the Mekong River which was a days bus travel from Nong Khai. We first caught a bus to the city of Nakon Phanom and then a mini bus for the further 45 kilometers to That Phanom. The bus trip seemed to take forever - the driver literally hugged the side of the road the whole way, slowing down every time he saw a person - hopeful that they would wave down his bus. We never thought we would arrive - and though we did enjoy segments of the passing scenery for the most part it was flat, dry and not particularly interesting. We arrived in Nakon Phanom at 4.30pmand were tempted just to find a hotel for the night but decided to continue. Thankfully we were able to get seats on a minibus onward soon after we arrived. The trip was only 45 minutes long and the minibus driver kindly signalled to a tuktuk to take us to our hotel as he drove into That Phanom instead of taking us to the bus station which was much further from the hotel. We hadn't booked a room but had no trouble getting a very comfortable modern room at the That Phanom Riverview Hotel for $28 a night. We certainly can't complain about quality and price of hotel rooms in this region of Thailand - so far they've been verging on luxurious for very reasonable rates.

We ate at the hotel restaurant - because it was air conditioned and the food on display at the small restaurants lining the riverside appeared to have been exposed to the sunshine all day - before a quick riverside walk. The esplanade was very quiet - there was barely anyone around - the river was wide but we could easily see the lights of Laos on the other side. The hotel seemed to be situated in an area which was predominately houses and tiny shops and we were looking forward to exploring it further in the daylight. Next morning we walked into the centre of the town - stopping to check out a large arch which was a miniature version of the arch of victory (in Vientiane, Laos) That Phanom has a heavy Lao influence and this arch frames the stunning Lao style chedi (Wat) which was at the end of the street. The arch seemed to serve no real purpose except as a viewing point for the white and gold wat. It stood alone in the middle of a small roundabout and was guarded by two cement pigs - one gold, the other silver. The nearby shops and houses were part of the old town and was peppered with remnants of the lovely old French architecture we had seen elsewhere in Mekong towns.

We could clearly see Wat Phra That Phanom (originally built 1500 years ago though extensively repaired in recent years) at the end of the wide road and it was an impressive sight. It is considered an extremely sacred by Buddhists in Thailand and Laos. Supposedly more impressive than any other Lao Wat it is regulatly visited by Lao pilgrims who cross the Mekong - they believe that to visit the Wat seven times at full moon ensures them prosperity and happiness for the rest of their lives. The main column of the Wat looks like a carved table leg tipped upside down - it's height of 53 meters is topped with a four tiered, jewel encrusted 16 kilograms of pure gold umbrella. The closer we got to the grounds the more impressive it appeared. It really was a beautiful complex - immaculately maintained - and the heavy gold trims sparkled in the sunshine. We spent the next couple of hours soaking up the atmosphere - the surrounds were busy with people making pilgrimages at various small altars and the white marble base of the Wat was constantly circled with other pilgrims, carrying incense and lotus offerings. It was one of the most beautiful temples we have ever visited - certainly the 110 kilograms of gold trim added to its beauty.

Eventually hunger caught up with us and we left to explore the shops and markets nearby to see what culinary delights we could find. We ended up lunching from the shelves at the 7eleven store - these stores are found on just about every block in every town in Thailand. Returning to our air-conditioned room - the temperature was unbearably high - we rested before venturing out again at dusk. On the way we stopped to watch a group of men making temple pieces - one man was making the tin links which are gilded and then connected to form the ornate metal umbrellas which are a feature of Thai temple architecture, whilst others were moulding some type of plastic into the shapes we had seen covering the temple walls. These pieces must be glued on and then painted with the gilt paint. Our afternoon siesta was disturbed by loud music which we later realised was coming from a demonstration march and rally of Government health workers near our hotel.

We watched the sun set over the river - the esplanade was also being used for a large aerobics class - before heading back to view the Wat under floodlight. If anything it was even more breathtaking after dark - it glowed under the floodlights. We sat quietly within the complex watching a group of monks chanting during their evening prayers. They were chanting and slowly moving up and down the length of a long open sided hall. I've never seen monks pray that way before - they were swaying in a slow backward and forward shuffling movement as they walked the length of the hall. Lovely to watch - their orange robes accentuated in glow of the gold surrounding them. It was hard to leave the temple precinct that evening. We were really pleased that we had taken the time to visit That Phanom - it far exceeded our expectations.

Next day we were heading further down river to Mukdahan but had planned our time in That Phanom to coincide with the weekly riverside market so very early next morning we were up and walking to the market as the sun rose. We have visited dozens of markets but we particularly enjoyed our wander through that large market. It was buzzing with traders from neighbouring Laos and boat after boat loaded with supplies and traders were crossing the river. There didn't appear to be any form of border control and the only policeman I saw happily waved me through the tiny 'official' control building. He wasn't at all worried about me scrambling around the river bank amidst all the chaos. It was an incredibly friendly market - we were the only tourists there - and all the traders were trying to chat with us. There was a lot of mime and laughter between us all. There was an amazing array of produce on sale - we had seen similar unusual items sold at markets on the Bolavan Plateau, Laos during a previous visit. One man attached himself to us and we enjoyed following him as he made his purchases - including a net bag of frogs and a bundle of lizards he said would be dinner that evening. Ants eggs, artistically displayed, featured on many stalls, as did dried buffalo meat. Sadly we saw two traditional medicine stalls with rhinoceros horns for sale. We saw some Vietnamese traders but most seemed to have come across the river from Laos. The unusual food items they were selling were Lao specialties but the Thai locals were queuing up to buy them. I purchased a shopping bag woven from plastic strips for next to nothing - the handbag of choice used by all the traders - and only lack of luggage space prevented me purchasing more of them.

That Phanom was our favourite Mekong town in Thailand but after the market and a late breakfast we once again headed to the bus station for the trip onwards. The buses to Mukdahan all began their journeys in Nakhon Phanom and were really overloaded by the time they arrived in That Phanom so we had to wait before one would accept us as passengers. We eventually made the trip, thankfully only an hour in length, on a dangerously over full bus. Jerry sat on the step at the door of the bus - which just managed to close - and two kind ladies insisted I shared their seat with them. I actually would have been much more comfortable standing but they were really insistent - the end result of that trip was a rather nasty bruise on my leg from the pressure of the broken end of the arm rest jabbing into me. It was a major process of upheaval when anybody tried to leave the bus as heaps of people were squatting in the aisles etc. however the bus still seemed as crowded as ever when we arrived in Mukdahan despite dropping off a lot of people enroute. One journey I was pleased to see end...

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

All that gliders is gold
You've taken some great photos in this one.