Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [441]
Tour groups sometimes arrange Phu Thai folk dances on the stage across from the market. If you’d like to hire the troupe, or just have questions about Phu Thai culture, ask for Khun Gobgab (08 6339 1600; gobgab1234@yahoo.co.th), who lives right behind the market and speaks English.
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GETTING THERE & AWAY
The turn-off to Renu Nakhon is only 8km north of That Phanom, and then it’s a further 7km west on Rte 2031. There’s no public transport. Túk-túk drivers in That Phanom ask 200B round trip per person with a little waiting time for you to look at the tâht and do some shopping, but the final price depends on your bargaining skills. You won’t save much money if you travel up to the junction and bargain with a túk-túk driver there.
THAT PHANOM
Towering over the small town, the spire of the colossal Lao-style chedi of Wat Phra That Phanom is one of the region’s most emblematic symbols and one of the great flagpoles of Isan identity. In comparison, the little town of That Phanom itself is rather forgettable. Divided neatly in two, with the older half next to the river, it does, however, make a relatively peaceful base for a night as you explore the region.
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Sights
WAT PHRA THAT PHANOM
Wat Phra That Phanom (Th Chayangkun; 4am-8pm) is a potent and beautiful place; and even if you’re feeling templed-out, this is an impressive and inspiring place. At its hub is a tâht, more impressive than any in present-day Laos and highly revered by Buddhists from both countries. The temple is busiest around full moons because people believe that a visit on these days bestows bountiful happiness in their life.
The tâht is 53m high and a five-tiered, 16kg gold umbrella laden with precious gems adds 4m more to the top. Many Thais believe that the Lord Buddha travelled to Thailand and directed that one of his breast-bone relics be enshrined in a chedi to be built on this very site: and so it was, eight years after his death in 535 BC. Historians date the first construction, a short satoop (there’s a replica of it in a pond in front of the temple), to the Dvaravati period (6th to 11th centuries). Modifications have been routine since then, but there have been four major constructions. The first tâht was 24m tall and went up in the 1st century BC; it was raised to 47m in 1690 and you’ll find copies of this design all over Isan. The current design was built in 1941, but it toppled during heavy rains in 1975 and was rebuilt in 1978.
Behind the surrounding cloister is a shady little park with a giant drum and to the north sits a 30m, century-old longboat carved from a single tree. The nearby museum (admission free; 8.30am-4pm) tells the history of the tâht and also displays a hodgepodge collection of pottery, gongs, US presidential commemorative coins and more.
OTHER SIGHTS
The short road between Wat Phra That Phanom and the old town on the Mekong River passes a large Lao arch of victory, which is a crude miniature version of the arch in Vientiane. The short stretch of Th Kuson Ratchadamnoen between the arch and the river is interesting, with a smattering of French-Chinese architecture that’s reminiscent of old Vientiane or Saigon and some shops selling Vietnamese foodstuffs. A couple of the interiors are nearly museum-quality timeless.
Hundreds of Lao merchants cross the river for a market (8.30am-noon Mon & Thu) north of the pier. Exotic offerings include Lao herbal medicines, forest roots and crabs. The maddest haggling occurs just before the market closes, when Thai buyers try to take advantage of the Lao’s reluctance to carry unsold merch-andise back home.
Festivals
During the That Phanom Festival in late January or early February visitors descend from all over Thailand and Laos to pay respect