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Savannakhet (Laos) to Ubon Ratchathani, ThailandApr 1, 2007
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Alan on the bus to Ubon Ratchathani
Lao Thai border crossing
Strange monument in Uban Ratchathani
From the border, we crossed into Mukdahan on a local bus and then took another all-day local bus, loaded to the gunnels onto ubon Ratchathani. We booked into a decent hotel (The Lai Thong Hotel) and worked out how to get to Wat Nong Pa Phong, a nearby monastry whose Dad's friend Bante (The Venerable Ajahn Luangpor Khemadhammo) - who lives at the Warwickshire Forest hermitage which Alastair and I visited last year - trained at for a number of years previously. This is a very famous place and in a most beautiful setting. We were kindly shown around by a young American novice monk who explained many of the functions of buildings and the history of the place.
After spending a couple of nights in Ubon, we caught an all-night train to Bangkok. Alan was feeling flush so we went "first Class" which meant having a compartment to ourselves for a change. It was a good journey and we arrived early morning in Bangkok in plenty of time for our early evening flight to Krabi.
