Good day trip to Wat Phu Kon

Post by **Barney** » December 15, 2015, 9:14 pm

Had a great day trip today with the family to the Wat Phu Kon.
Great view up on the mountain area, the Wat itself is tremendous and that huge reclining Buddha certainly worth the visit. Carved out of marble. Massive size.
No one on the road today and virtually no people at the Wat. You will see in the photos no people. I would imagine it would get busy at certain times.
Nice lunch on the roadside café, many eateries to choose from as you get closer.
If you haven't been give it a look. Would be a nice motorbike ride in this weather.
We left just after 9am and were there before 11. A real easy drive there and back withy the tribe.

Post by **ting_tong** » December 15, 2015, 9:24 pm

https://www.google.co.th/maps/place/%E0 ... 5db0924f8f

Post by **waanjai** » December 15, 2015, 9:44 pm

The route & GPS coordinates

Post by **Mosquito** » December 16, 2015, 9:31 am

Visted the place last week, any advice on alternate roads to take. Did the google trip thru Nong Bua Lamphu and the roads were terrible, on the return trip tried another road........not as bad but still a lot of pot holes.
Traffic was very light both ways, but still a good 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive (mainly due to road conditions) from Nong Wua So.

Place does need some organization for rides to the temple and return, standard people just jumping in front of everyone. Got really close to elbowing thru those cutting in front of people, and for me it takes a lot (not really) to piss me off enough to be willing to get into a fight.

It's definitely a place everyone should visit.

Post by **Mosquito** » December 16, 2015, 9:40 am

Oh, forgot...............thought Thais respected their elders!!!

Young and middle age guys/gals, pushing and cutting in front of senior citizens to get on those trucks.
*have to wonder if they do safety/brake check on the trucks as he road to the temple is very steep, i'm not wondering pretty sure they don't.

Next time i go there it'll be early, we were there from 10-12 o'clock............few people at 10, crowded at 12.

Dress code more formal than the usual temples, they do have wraps for females showing up with short shorts.
My t-shirt and mid length shorts were fine, one of the few t-shirts i have that didn't have holes (like the comfort of 6 year old t-shirts).

Post by **Barney** » December 16, 2015, 10:53 am

Mosquito wrote:Visted the place last week, any advice on alternate roads to take. Did the google trip thru Nong Bua Lamphu and the roads were terrible, on the return trip tried another road........not as bad but still a lot of pot holes.
Traffic was very light both ways, but still a good 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive (mainly due to road conditions) from Nong Wua So.

Place does need some organization for rides to the temple and return, standard people just jumping in front of everyone. Got really close to elbowing thru those cutting in front of people, and for me it takes a lot (not really) to piss me off enough to be willing to get into a fight.

It's definitely a place everyone should visit.

Gees Mosquito either I was lucky or you were unlucky.
Maybe certain days or holidays as I mentioned may be busy.
Probably 40 people at the temple the whole time and I was able to drive and park at the Wat stairs carpark. The nice policeman even directed me to move and park under the shade area.
The road map route that waanjai indicated took me less then 2 hours.
If there were heaps of people I would not enjoy it either.
But worth a visit for sure.

Post by **bumper** » March 5, 2016, 6:05 pm

This one you could spend several hours at

https://youtu.be/HrZ2bCo-tXI

Post by **nickboyuk** » September 27, 2016, 8:50 pm

Visited today. 2 hours from Udon lovely place amazing temple. Was very quiet. The motor made it up to the top easily enough. Would definitely recommend a day out there.

Post by **FrazeeDK** » September 28, 2016, 8:54 am

or directly across the valley (to the east of Wat Phu Pha Kon) to the Nam Som/Na Yung National Park.. A goodly hike up the hill to see several large waterfalls.. The hike up is on concrete stairs and pathways... Last time I went there was no park admission fee to get in.. They have the park headquarters, camping, bathrooms and a food/snack outlet in the valley.. Its about a 1 kilometer walk up the stairs/path to where the falls are located..

Post by **Shado** » September 28, 2016, 9:26 am

Thanks for the tip FrazeeDK, we go up to that area fairly regularly but wasn't aware of Nam Som/Na Yung National Park. We like hiking trails and waterfalls. I'm sure there are some great photo ops. Should probably plan to go before the wet season is completely finished.