Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [403]
e-Bar (Th Phichit Rangsan; 7pm-1am) A newer club going head to head with U-Bar, only with more glitz and more dancing. Their special promotions and regular visits from Bangkok bands have made it very popular.
Pakse (no roman-script sign; Th Uparat; 6pm-12.30am) More of a pub than a club, only with very loud music, this large place has oodles of cosy character, a pool table and a full menu. It’s not flashy, just cool.
Golden Jubilee Art & Cultural Centre (0 4535 2000; Th Jaeng Sanit) There are sometimes Isan music and dance performances here.
Shopping
The speciality of Ubon Province is natural-dyed, hand-woven cotton, and you’ll find a fantastic assortment of clothing, bags and fabric here. First stop should be Camp Fai Ubon (0 4524 1821; 189 Th Thepyothi; 8am-5pm), which is signed as Peaceland. Smaller, but also good is Grass-Root (0 4524 1272; 87 Th Yutthaphan; 9am-5pm). Although it features less natural-dyed fabric, Maybe (0 4525 4452; 124 Th Si Narong; 8am-7pm) is another good clothing shop with reasonable prices.
There’s also some Ubon cotton at Punchard (0 4526 5751; 156 Th Pha Daeng; 9am-8pm), a large all-rounder handicrafts shop with a pricey but great selection. There is also a Punchard branch (0 4524 3433) on Th Ratchabut that is mostly a home-decor centre. The new, and still half-empty, OTOP Center (Th Jaeng Sanit; 8.30am-5pm) also has a varied shopping selection.
In a completely different vein from the above shops, Rawang Thang (08 1700 7013; 301 Th Kheuan Thani; 9am-9pm Mon-Sat) sells fun and funky T-shirts, postcards, picture frames and assorted bric-a-brac, most created by the friendly husband-and-wife owners. They can fill you in on all things Ubon and are considering opening a riverside guesthouse.
Getting There & Away
AIR
THAI (www.thaiairways.com) has two daily flights to/from Bangkok (one-way 2020B), while Air Asia (www.airasia.com) has one (1400B).
BUS
Ubon’s bus terminal (0 4531 6085) is north of the town; take srng·ta·ou 2, 3 or 10 to the centre.
Buses link Ubon with Bangkok (2nd/1st class 396/473B, eight hours) frequently in the morning and evening, plus a few around mid-day. 999 VIP (0 4531 4299; 24-seat VIP 724B; 6.30pm & 7.30pm) has the slickest service, but Nakhonchai Air (0 4526 9777; 32-seat VIP 595B; 10 daily) is also very good. The former also has direct service to Pakse, Laos (1st class 200B, 9.30am and 2pm, three hours) while the latter also goes straight to Rayong (2nd class/32-seat VIP 427/641B, 14 hours, 11 daily) and Chiang Mai (2nd class/32-seat VIP 595/893B, 17 hours, six daily). Other fares to/from Ubon are in the table, opposite.
Phibun (35B, 1½ hours, every 20 minutes) and Khong Jiam (80B, three hours, 10am) buses stop briefly at the Warin Market across the river after leaving the terminal, but you may not get a seat if you board there.
TRAIN
The train station (0 4532 1588) is in Warin Chamrap; take srng·ta·ou 2 from Ubon. The overnight express train leaves Bangkok nightly at 8.30pm, arriving in Ubon at 7.25am the next day, while the Bangkok-bound service heads west at 6.30pm arriving at 5.50am. Fares for 3rd-class seat/2nd-class air-con seat/2nd-class fan sleeper/1st-class air-con sleeper are 245/551/471/1180B. Six other trains also make the run throughout the day, taking just as long except the 5.45am (from Bangkok) 2.50pm (from Ubon) special express service, which takes 8½ hours. Trains also stop in Si Saket, Surin and Khorat (3rd-/2nd-class air-con 58/423B, four to six hours).
Getting Around
Numbered srng·ta·ou (10B) run throughout town. The free city map that TAT hands out marks the routes, most of which pass near its office. A normal túk-túk trip will cost at least 40B.
Ubon Rental Cycle (0 4524 4708; 115 Th Si Narong; 8.30am-6pm Mon-Sat) has a few bikes for hire at 100B per day.
AROUND UBON RATCHATHANI PROVINCE
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