Udon Thani, Thailand: Tourist Attractions

Udon Thani Area Tourist Attractions

Who says there are no fun things to do in Udon Thani? Since 2013, I have discovered many scenic and cultural attractions in the Udon Thani area of northeastern Thailand. Two lesser-known tourist sites are located in the Udon Thani Province within an hour's drive from Udon Thani City—the Sea of Red Lotuses and the Ho Chi Minh Historical Sites and Museum.

In this article, after introducing northeastern Thailand and Udon Thani, I will present the location of two interesting but hard-to-find tourist attractions and how to reach them by vehicle. I will also detail my experiences visiting these tourist sites.

Northeast Thailand

Udon Thani and Northeast Thailand

Udon Thani is one of the provinces in the northern part of northeast Thailand or Isaan as popularly known, Isaan comprises almost half of Thailand's land area. It extends from Nakhon Ratchasima in the south to Nong Khai on the Mekong River separating Laos from Thailand. Isaan is also bordered in the northeast by the Mekong which divides Thailand from Laos to the northeast and east and from Cambodia to the southeast.

Udon Thani Province is bordered by the provinces of Nong Khai to the north, Khon Kaen to the south, Sakhon Nakhon to the east, Kalasin to the southeast, and Loei and Nong Bua Lamphu to the west.

The province of Udon Thani is divided into 20 districts or prefectures. Mueang Udon Thani or the city of Udon is the largest. Districts outside Udon City with tourist attractions include Kumphawapi to the southeast, Kut Chap to the west, and Nong Han to the east.

Udon Thani Province had a population of almost 1.6 million in 2014 with a little more than 400,000 living in Udon Thani City in 2013. It has an international airport. Population facts are taken from Wikipedia.

Udon Thani City in Relation to Districts in Udon Thani Province

The Sea of Red Lotuses

One of the better-kept secret tourist attractions in the Udon Thani area is the Sea of Red Lotuses or Ta Lay Bua Daeng as it is known in Thai. Hidden in the Kumphawapi Reserve in Kumphawapi District, it is not easy to reach unless you are a local or a tour guide.

The Sea of Red Lotuses is 45-50 kilometers from the Udon Thani City Ring Road at Lake Nong Han on the banks of Ban Dian.

You can best reach it by car or minivan from Udon Thani City by taking Highway 2 south toward Khon Kaen. At 22-25 kilometers south of the City Ring Road, you will see a sign directing you to the Sea of Red Lotuses. After you see the sign, exit to the left onto Highway 2633, a two-lane road. This road will take 25 kilometers to the Sea of Red Lotuses.

Our boat pilot and guide on the lake indicated that the Sea of Red Lotuses covers 22,000 Thai rai or the equivalent of 10,524 acres. Its average depth measured by a stick from the boat guide is between one and two meters.

When I visited the Sea of Red Lotuses with family and friends on February 8, 2018, it was my second visit to this attraction. My first visit was in January 2015 with my wife.

The second visit was much better than the first. My wife agreed and pointed out it was because she paid 500 Thai baht (about $16) for a one-and-a-half-hour trip for all of us on the lake. On our first trip, my wife and I only paid 300 baht for a 45-minute ride that did not visit all of the red lotuses on the lake.

Recommended

Amazing Experience of the 1000 Islands Cruise in Ontario, Canada

During our most recent boat ride with friends, we visited all of the areas of the lake where the red lotuses were in bloom. We were on the lake from 9:30 until 11:00 am before the sun started to shine brightly.

The best time to plan a trip to the Sea of Red Lotuses is during the cool dry season which runs from November through February. I would also advise going to the lake before 11:00 a.m. when the red lotuses are in full bloom.

There is no admission to this public reserve. The only charge is for renting a boat and a pilot. After enjoying a boat ride, an onshore area has small Thai restaurants and souvenir shops.

If you depart Udon Thani City between 8:00 and 8:30, you should return to the city for lunch at noon if you don't eat at the Sea of Red Lotuses. Many of the larger hotels in Udon Thani City offer half-day tours to the Sea of Red Lotuses.

Route Map from Udon Thani City to the Sea of Red Lotuses

Ho Chi Minh Historical Sites

The Ho Chi Minh historical sites are one of the least-known tourist attractions in the Udon Thani area. I first became aware of these historical sites when I saw a big sign on the side of Highway 2263 going west towards Kut Chap District.

More specifically, the Ho Chi Minh historical sites are located about 11 kilometers west of Udon Thani City on a two-lane highway 2263 off the Ring Road toward Kut Chap. At 10 kilometers from the Ring Road, you will see a big sign in English and Vietnamese on the left side of the road next to a temple directing you to turn left onto a small lane. After turning, you will pass a school on the left and a temple on the right before seeing another sign telling you to turn right. After you turn right, you will see the entrance to the Ho Chi Minh historical sites.

These historical sites consist of a two-level Ho Chi Minh museum and reconstructed buildings where Ho Chi Minh once lived.

Throughout his life, Ho Chi Minh father of modern-day Vietnam led the fight for resistance against first the French and then the Americans. This culminated in the unification of Vietnam and its independence.

In his life from 1890 until 1969, Ho Chi Minh was trained as a teacher and traveled the world for 30 years before rising to power. During his travel, Ho Chi Minh learned 28 languages, many of which he taught.

In 1927, Ho Chi Minh first arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, and from there traveled to Pichet in the north and then to Udon Thani in Isaan where there was a sizable Vietnamese community.

The Ho Chi Minh Museum opened in 2001 and has many books, photos, letters, and maps related to Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam. Unfortunately, most of the displays are only in Thai and Vietnamese. An English-speaking Thai-Vietnamese guide, however, is on duty and will answer most of your questions about Ho Chi Minh. I learned that 100,000 Thai-Vietnamese reside in Thailand and 60,000 in the Udon Thani area.

After visiting the museum, my wife and I toured the reconstructed buildings where Ho Chi Minh once lived in 1928 and 1929. I saw the room in the main building where Ho Chi Minh taught adults and children English, Thai, and Vietnamese. I also viewed the room where he slept and an outer building that served as a kitchen. Next to these buildings were replicas of where Ho Chi Minh raised pigs and chickens and stored his rice grain.

According to Lonely Planet's publication, Ho Chi Minh used this formerly bamboo jungle area around Nong Hang village as one of his bases to rally Esaan's big Vietnamese communities for resistance against the French occupation.

The museum guide, however, noted that Ho Chi Minh hid in this area to avoid French intelligence operatives who were chasing him.

The Ho Chi Minh Museum and reconstructed buildings are open daily from 8-4. Admission is free and unless you can read Thai or Vietnamese, you should be able to tour the museum in 30 minutes. It should take no more than 20 minutes one way to travel to the Ho Chi Minh historical sites from the center of Udon Thani City. If you don't have a private car or cannot afford a taxi, the cheapest way to travel is by taking the number 14 "Songtaew" a converted pickup truck having two rows of seats on both sides of the vehicle. You catch the Songtaew in Udon City and it will drop you off on the road to Kut Chap next to the small road leading to the Ho Chi Minh sites.

Ho Chi Minh Rebuilt Buildings Outside of Udon Thani City

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2018 Paul Richard Kuehn