Giant Candle Wax Sculptures of Ubon Ratchathani

Every year, sometime during the first two weeks of July, Ubon Ratchathani celebrates a festival where a topaz made Buddha (housed in Wat Si Ubon Rattanaram) and giant wax statues are paraded around the city. I chanced on one of these statues in a covered garage, just beside Wat Nong Bua. I was amazed with its size. Don't they gradually melt in Thailand's warm weather? Won't they disintegrate? They looked sturdy enough though. Mostly, I was amazed with the intricate artistry, tremendous skill and patience involved in carving out these images out of a dark yellow candle wax. Amazing!

There's nothing left to say here so I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Interiors of Wat Nong Bua - Temples of Ubon Ratchathani

As I've mentioned in my previous post, Wat Nong Bua, aka Wat Phrathat Nong Bua, is one of the most eye-catching temples in Ubon Ratchathani. The designers didn't seem to spare anything, decked most of its interiors in gleaming gold, I had to catch my breath and keep my jaw shut. All this glitter somehow provides an atmosphere of "royalty" more than piety. There are 4 doors leading inside, each one has a golden Buddha facing the door.Once you look up, you will see scaffolding similarly decked in gold, and studded with glorious accouterments.

I caught a monk blessing the laity in one corner of the room, but easily disappeared too. There were very few people visiting so I had the place mostly to myself.

Wat Nong Bua is located in Thammawithi Road, some 500 meters from the commercial Chayangkun Road.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Exteriors of Wat Nong Bua - Temples in Ubon Ratchathani

My favorite temple in Ubon Ratchathani would have to be Wat Nong Bua, aka Wat Phrathat Nong Bua, for obvious reasons. The temple is simply stunning! It stands out from the coterie of temples in this border city.

It's also a bit far from the backpacker area of Muang District, located on Thammawithi Road, a few blocks from the commercial street of Chayangkun Road. But if you think that this was built because of an available space, it actually has a little more story than the rest. The pagoda was, in fact, built among lush timber forest  to mark the 25th century of Buddhism in the year 1957. Giant trees have so far dwindled due to the urbanization of Ubon.

The temple (the city guide calls it "pagoda"which I find odd) is semi-pyramidal in shape, with a square-base, 17 meters  wide and 56 meters high. It houses a relic of Buddha's footprint inside. The "pagoda' has 4 doors, each one has their separate golden Buddhas facing each entrance. It is also surrounded by another four smaller pagodas situated at the four corners of the boundary wall. Prior to its renovation, it used to be concrete-finish, now it gleams in white and gold. Beautiful and bright. It's said to have been patterned after the Mahabodhi stupa of Bodh Gaya, India. There is no entrance fees here.

In the temple complex, you find other temples, one of which is a beautifully designed "wiharn" with 8 peach-colored posts right in front of this prayer hall. A semi-circular glass panel stands at the top of the temple gable, making it seem more modern than most I've seen in Ubon. During my visit, another "wiharn" - a prayer hall for the laity - was being renovated. Nearby stood a colorful Bell Tower.

In this post, we only feature the exteriors found around Wat Nong Bua. The dazzling interiors are on feature next.

To get there: The temple is 3 kilometers  from downtown Ubon, about 500 meters or so from Chayangkun Road (past the BKS Station). A nearby market is called Nong Bua Market as well, on your stroll to and out of the area.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

One of the four entrances of the main temple. I don't even think that the concept of an ubosot applies here because not much room is provided inside for the ordination ceremonies.

This is the main temple prior to the renovation. It exuded a lot of character back then. This photo is courtesy of wikipedia's jpatokal.

The yellow roofed building could be the wiharn.

Details on the wall

Bell Tower

Another hallway is being renovated.

Yellow green colored orchid

City Pillar Shrine - Temples of Ubon Ratchathani

Cities and towns in Thailand always have city pillars and their shrines. They represent the locale and secondarily provide an attraction for visitors. At the south corner of Thung Si Muang Park rises a sacred pillar built in 1972 - the City Pillar Shrine. It's open to visitors daily from 5 AM to 7 PM. People can pray here and offer gifts. This particular shrine has a surfeit of elephants of varying sizes and colors. Outside, the tired roof is adorned by a golden pyramidal spire at its center. The chofahs are a graceful coterie of thin, tapering antelope-like structures that reach towards the heavens. The shrine gable is a mixture of intricately carved dragons in gold and red. From the park fields, you can't not notice this beautiful structure standing in front of the City Museum (officially called Ubon Ratchathani National Museum). I asked local what they call the place and he said "Wat Salak Mangan".

SHRINE vs. TEMPLE

Curiously, I didn't find any Buddha here, yet there are offerings (flowers, incense, garlands) surrounding what could be the central altar in the middle of the room. This is probably because this structure isn't really a "temple", but a "shrine" - and while the former is a house of worship, a "shrine" isn't.

Ubon is unexpectedly rich in unique places to discover, though some books say otherwise.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Graceful chofahs and the golden chedi (stupa) on top

Colorful gable

Chofahs

An unusual chedi

Lotus at the pond near the shrine

City Pillar Shrine from the arched entrance of the National Museum.