TheNHBushman.com

Photos by MJ Klein – FOOD PHOTOS!

We spent several wonderful days in Ubon visiting our good friend Brunty and his girlfriend Noot.  But, as all things must come to an end, so did our visit.  In the morning, I sent Brunty the usual SMS text message to his mobile phone and within 15 minutes he arrived at our room to pick us up.  We checked out of the room and put all our belongings into his car.  Brunty had told us about a cool archeological site nearby and we wanted to check it out.  Everyone knows that Bushman loves a good archeological dig!  Brunty wrote an excellent article about the site.

The name is Ban Kan Lueang Archeological site (click on the photo to read the information sign).

Believed to date back at least 2,000 years, this site is very important to the study of history in this region of Thailand.  The next few photos show some of the artifacts that have been uncovered thus far.  The site is barely excavated, with so much more still underground, surely it will take years and maybe decades to uncover it all.

I like the beads in this photo.

There is a small temple nearby and this bell resides at the entrance.  Notice the cigarette pack that someone decided to discard onto one of the poles.

Inside the temple we found an unlocked glass case containing some ancient artifacts.  As Brunty put it: “There is some pottery on view in a small Wiharn near the pit. MJ was amazed that the glass case wasn’t locked and you could simply slide it open and touch the pottery on display if you wanted to, of course we didn’t do this but I am sure that some people have.“  Yes, I was literally amazed that one could simply reach in and touch these precious items from time immemorial.  Brunty has some great pics in his article so I suggest that you be sure to read it.

If you click on this photo and view the large size you will see that there are some red LEDs glowing inside a box toward the left.  This is a modern electronic aid to worship in modern Thailand.  One puts money in the box and the lights start flashing.  A recording of a monk chanting is played from a speaker.  This recorded voice takes on a very eerie character with the natural reverberation produced by the hard surfaced interior of most temples.

The other end of the small temple interior.

Brunty and Noot met with a woman who is doing research at this site.

As you can see, the excavated part of the site is rather small.  I hope they can expand the dig and find more artifacts.

Soon, it was time to eat!  Brunty took us to a great place nearby.

Now we can see why everyone is all smiles!  Just look at the food!

We had originally planned on going to another archeological site but we got to eating and talking, and unfortunately time ran out on us.  So, we headed to the bus station to say goodby.  Brunty had taken us to the bus station early in the morning and we bought our tickets in advance.   Believe it or not, there is not VIP bus between Khonkaen and Ubon!  We had to endure the 5 hour “cattle car” bus as Brunty calls it.  No matter, it was well worth the trip to meet Brunty and Noot!

Brunty, thanks so much for a wonderful time in Ubon.  We so enjoying meeting both of you, and we hope to see you in Taiwan someday soon!

After a grueling 5 hour bus ride, this rainbow was a very welcome sight upon our return to Khonkaen.

Thanks for reading!