Brief trip report - Khao Phra Viharn and southern Ubon

[Briggsy]

Visited Khao Phra Viharn National Park.

Obviously there is no shortage of military there. Initially I was not permitted in on 2 counts :-

1. 4:45 pm was deemed too late to enter.

2. No tourists on motorbikes can enter. You can enter in a car / pick-up or on a bicycle but not a motorbike. Officials and military can use motorbikes.

I was told to come back at 5 am, park up at the NP HQ at the gate and I would be able to go in with somebody in a car.

I stayed at Yok Fah resort which is around 5 km from the checkpoint. Basic bungalows, 340 Baht. The other option was staying in Kantharalak, around 30 km away.

Returned in the morning, and sure enough go a lift to Pha Mor Ee Daeng in a pick-up with an official from the NP. This cliff is around 500 m to 1 km from the temple itself. You cannot go further than this point so you cannot go to the temple at present. Stayed at Pha Mor Ee Daeng till around 8:30 am. The soldiers and officials were concerned I didn't stray into places I shouldn't and when I looked to go back to the checkpoint, 8 kms away, they materialised out of nowhere and asked me, "Are you going back now?" Everyone was very polite and friendly.

The National Park runs for quite some distance along the border. So I picked an attraction from the National Park map, Nam Tok Tat Hai, and kept a look-out for it as I headed down the 2248 towards Ubon. I found a sign to it and headed down the red dirt road and found some dipterocarp forest which must have been very close to the border. There was also a young guy at NP unit no. 2, essentially an outpost, who said the waterfall was further on down the dirt road. I kept going and the road got worse. I stopped and found a forest path with a faded hand-written sign to a temple, surely a forest temple. I did some birding in the forest (rufous woodpecker, very impressive if you are into birdwatching) and followed the path. After about an hour of birdwatching and about 1.5 km down the forest path, I walked back to my bike. I was a bit paranoid about parking it in the middle of nowhere so close to the border. So I never made it to the temple and as for the waterfall I didn't make it there either but there was a bit of a stream. Never saw a soul during my hour in the forest there.

I kept riding along the 2248 and just past Nam Yeun, I headed down a surprisingly good road through forest to the Emerald Triangle. The road is 15 km long but you can only go 12 km to the first military base. Then the road is closed off with barbed wire. I am sure somebody will have crashed into the barbed wire. There are some faded photos of dead Vietnamese soldiers on a noticeboard outside the base. There is apparently a second military base at the end of the 15 km road but you cannot go there normally. I am not sure when these photos related to. Perhaps 1980 - 1989 following the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia. The photos seem to show cross-border fighting between Thai and Vietnamese troops. I don't think they related to earlier conflicts.

I then visited Phu Jong - Na Yoi NP with its very impressive 45-metre Huay Luang Waterfall. I never imagined Ubon had such a place. Just outside the park entrance, there is Huay Luang Resort. This place was very nice and embarrassingly cheap at 500 Baht a night. If you don't stay here then you need to stay in Na Jaluay District where there are several resorts. You better not be scared of tokay gekkos though. I counted 4 on my balcony alone. At Huay Luang Waterfall, there were blue-bearded bee-eaters (more birdy stuff).

Hope this is of interest to somebody.

[David48]

Was of interest to me ...

Couple of Pics would be nice though.

[Briggsy]

Try this as a test post. This is a view looking down from the Ee Daeng Cliff into Cambodia. The official said the mountain range in the distance is in Laos.

Oh, they all loaded as thumbnails, that's good.

The second picture is the cliff.

The third picture is as close as you can currently get to the temple itself, which is of course in Cambodia. It may reopen in 2015.

The fourth picture is a bunker for 30 people. Let's hope it never needs to be used again.

The fifth picture is of an infiltrator from Cambodia. He/she climbed up the cliff and is clearly an undocumented illegal, long-tailed macaque.

The sixth picture is Huay Luang Waterfall in Ubon's Phu Jong - Na Yoi National Park. You park at the top and take the steps down.

The seventh picture is my mode of transport for this trip.

Edited November 15, 2014 by Briggsy

[Farma]

Briggsy I was wondering if that Emerald Triangle base you found had a collection of old RPG's, mortars, mines etc around rocks either side of the gate? Across the road as a dam or lake. I found the Army rangers there welcoming and very farang friendly. They insisted on having their pics taken with me.

I've also made a few detours to the border between Phra Viharn and the Emerald triangle. Most of the border posts are up remote roads with very relaxed Thai border staff. You can walk into Cambodia to cheap small markets but aren't allowed cameras or to look over the cliff into Cambodia.

Edited November 15, 2014 by Farma

[Briggsy]

Farma, yes the army base is opposite the reservoir. You can see it clearly on google maps. I didn't notice mortars etc. around the gate. but I could have easily missed them.

Ha ha, every military, border police and police post I have stumbled into on forest trips has been welcoming and insisted on me having my photo taken with them.

[Farma]

I found the army guys up at mo i dang friendly too. I had the son and his mate up on a visit from Oz and the officer there on the main lookout called them over to look through the big binoculars at the temple and into Khmer. I think he was hoping he had a couple of recruits lined up. It's a pity the temple is still closed. but then again that walk up to the temple can be a bit of a struggle at times.

The rangers down in the emerald triangle told us the road was blocked off at the base as there were still little fights going on plus plenty of uncleared land mines along that stretch of road.

[ubonrthai]

I have a picture of the waterfall you were looking for here. Not the most impressive thing in the world but the hike was nice. The coordinates are 14°27'0.10"N, 104°55'22.13"E. Did you see the bunker like rock structures around the walking path where you were birding? I couldn't figure out what they were but they looked like homemade bunkers. I have some Panoramio pics up on Google Earth of that area. You might enjoy reading about my birding trip in Pha Taem National Park here.

I've tried finding all waterfalls in Ubon and have more info here. If you want any maps or info around Ubon I have a decent collection. Happy to share any of it.

Edited November 15, 2014 by ubonrthai

[ubonrthai]

I received notification from Google last night that the satellite imagery in much of Southern Ubon was updated yesterday. I'm not sure if this was a recent change but I noticed they show all of the temple in Cambodia now. Last I checked Google still had it as a disputed area and the border line split the temple.

Edited November 15, 2014 by ubonrthai

[Briggsy]

Thank you for that, ubonrthai. I will look at that later today. Once I start looking at Google Maps, I tend to lose track of time.

[Briggsy]

ubonrthai

Ah, I see I must have stopped the bike just a few hundred metres short of the waterfall and then instead of continuing along the road/track, I followed the hand-written sign along the forest trail to the temple at 14.443930N, 104.923337E. The temple, which I didn't make it to, lies around 600 m due south of your waterfall co-ordinates on a separate forest road. To get to this road to the temple, the map indicates you go through ranger station no. 2, which you/I passed on the way, and then continue to the temple. The waterfall road means you take a left at the ranger station and don't enter it.

According to the signs at the turning from the 2248, the temple is either called Wat Pa (Forest Wat) Phu Lohn (deforested mountain) or Wat Kao (Old Temple) Phu Lamduan (Lamduan, a flower, mountain). There must be at least 2 temples down there.

[khwaibah]

I received notification from Google last night that the satellite imagery in much of Southern Ubon was updated yesterday. I'm not sure if this was a recent change but I noticed they show all of the temple in Cambodia now. Last I checked Google still had it as a disputed area and the border line split the temple.

Thanks for the update . Just checked. Imagery date is 1/6/2014. All temples of Cambodia are not shown other areas further west in dispute have not been upgraded.

[khwaibah]

I received notification from Google last night that the satellite imagery in much of Southern Ubon was updated yesterday. I'm not sure if this was a recent change but I noticed they show all of the temple in Cambodia now. Last I checked Google still had it as a disputed area and the border line split the temple.

Thanks for the update . Just checked. Imagery date is 1/6/2014. All temples of Cambodia are not shown other areas further west in dispute have not been upgraded.

Owe you an apology. Just did a another review and it looks like the satellite updates are all recent.

[pookiki]

Hi, this is a very timely report for me as I thought it was possible to visit the temple grounds itself and I have made plans to go in late December. Is the view from the Thai side worth the trip? If not, I would rather alter my plans and look for other sites to see.

Thanks! PM me if it is more convenient.

[lostinisaan]

Hi, this is a very timely report for me as I thought it was possible to visit the temple grounds itself and I have made plans to go in late December. Is the view from the Thai side worth the trip? If not, I would rather alter my plans and look for other sites to see.

Thanks! PM me if it is more convenient.

As far as I know are you not allowed to go there from Thai side. I remember a TVF member who traveled to the temple coming from Pnom Phen, but his Thai wife wasn't allowed to go to the temple.

Just to see the Moo Daeng Cliff might not be worth driving all the way, other members might be more knowledgeable. Should you decide to do the trip, please visit Norbert, a German guy with decent food and a cold beer, in Kantharalak, which is about 50 km away from Moo Daeng.

When you drive through the national; park, they're trying to charge 500 baht "drive through fee". If you have a Thai driver's license you'll be okay and pay the Thai price, which is around 30 baht.

Please see attached photos just to give you an idea about the temple.

Cheers-

Edited November 16, 2014 by lostinisaan

[Briggsy]

Hi, this is a very timely report for me as I thought it was possible to visit the temple grounds itself and I have made plans to go in late December. Is the view from the Thai side worth the trip? If not, I would rather alter my plans and look for other sites to see.

Thanks! PM me if it is more convenient.

Lostinisaan has answered in detail. You can visit the temple itself from Cambodia, I think, but definitely not from the Thai side. On the Thai side, you get to Pha Mor Ee Daeng. Pha Mor Ee Daeng is approx. 1 km from the temple.

Is it worth the visit? I would say, yes.

Lostinisaan, Great post on coming from the Cambodian side

Don't take my impromptu language correction the wrong way.

Moo Daeng = Chinese Marinaded Pork. e.g. Khao Moo Daeng 40 ฿

Pha Mor = Cliff

Ee Daeng = a local teacher who was killed on a visit to the temple in the 1960's in a vehicle accident and then haunted the cliff for 30 years. The haunting stopped when the official name of the cliff was changed to Pha Mor Ee Daeng.

[lostinisaan]

Hi, this is a very timely report for me as I thought it was possible to visit the temple grounds itself and I have made plans to go in late December. Is the view from the Thai side worth the trip? If not, I would rather alter my plans and look for other sites to see.

Thanks! PM me if it is more convenient.

Lostinisaan has answered in detail. You can visit the temple itself from Cambodia, I think, but definitely not from the Thai side. On the Thai side, you get to Pha Mor Ee Daeng. Pha Mor Ee Daeng is approx. 1 km from the temple.

Is it worth the visit? I would say, yes.

Lostinisaan, Great post on coming from the Cambodian side

Don't take my impromptu language correction the wrong way.

Moo Daeng = Chinese Marinaded Pork. e.g. Khao Moo Daeng 40 ฿

Pha Mor = Cliff

Ee Daeng = a local teacher who was killed on a visit to the temple in the 1960's in a vehicle accident and then haunted the cliff for 30 years. The haunting stopped when the official name of the cliff was changed to Pha Mor Ee Daeng.

Thanks for the correction, I always eat cliffs and wasn't aware of it......

[pookiki]

Thanks everyone for your responses! I traveled extensively in Isaan in December 2010 and went to all the Khmer temples along the border starting with the temples in Sa Kaeo. At that time I saw information that Phra Viharn was open but when I arrived there, I was turned around at a military check-point. I've been waiting to see the place since I was stationed in Thailand in the army in 68-69. I have seen most of the places mentioned in Sisaket already to include the market at the Emerald Triangle.

On my trip in December, I planned to fly to Ubon. Overnight in Ubon and go to Pakse the following day. Spend two nights in Pakse with a day trip to Wat Phu. Then return to Ubon, rent a car and drive to Kantharalak for two nights. I'm glad I got this information now instead of arriving at Phra Viharn only to be disappointed again. I guess I need to make alternate plans. Just not sure where to go, now. Thanks to all, once again!

[DILLIGAD]

Been there today and still out of bounds from Thai side.

[khwaibah]

Been there today and still out of bounds from Thai side.

Been closed since June 22, 2008. My family and I visited from Thailand side April 2008.

[khwaibah]

Front page Bangkok post.. FREE ENTERY to ALL National Parks Dec 4,5&6 and Dec 31, Jan 1,2&3. Which means

Khao Phra Wihan National Park is free. Edited November 17, 2014 by khwaibah