21 December 2017. Back to Ubon. Visit to Wat Nong Pa Pong

I was up early for the tuk tuk to the bus station and the bus to Ubon. Outside the monks were collecting their alms.
All went well on the tuk tuk until we turned into the road of the bus station when I bump in the road unfortunately broke the poor tuk tuk's suspension. So, sadly it will not have been the most profitable trip for the driver.
The coach ride to Ubon was straightforward enough and getting back into Thailand was dramatically easier than the provision of the Laos visa in the other direction.
Once back at the hotel, I borrowed a bicycle and set off for Wat Nong Pa Pong, one of the recommended 'things to do'. The cycle ride there, mainly along Ubon's equivalent of the North Cricular wasn't massively pleasant but improved dramatically once I turned off for the Wat. The only sign in English was on the busy road. After that all was in Thai and so it was fortunate I had my google map to tell me when I was there.

The Wat proved to be in a massive site with lots of buildings, the first of which I came across being the striking Pagoda.




 Then, exploring the extensive grounds, I reached the Wat itself - a much more modern building than I had imagined





Next to it was another huge building (maybe this was the Wat!) - complete with skeleton



The grounds house lots of chickens, including a cockerill who seemed to take a great interest in my bike


More seriously, the trees had little notices in Thai - that I assume were for the monks to read as they did their rounds
The way back was through some lovely rural landscapes until I hit the busy road thought the city.



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