A Festive Morning At Tung Sri Muang Park Ubon

The Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival is held on several venues. One of the major centers for activities was Tung Sri Muang Park in downtown Ubon. It is the location of the giant wax sculpture pillar, which has become a landmark here.

Of course I had to go down and see what was going on there. One of the first sights I encountered was the gift from His Majesty King Bhumipol Adulyadej.
It is highly valued by the people of Ubon. The beautiful candle occupied its place of honor, surrounded by a barrier and guarded by a young cadet. Many people were stopping by to admire the candle and have their picture taken in front of it. My understanding is that it will be kept at a local temple after the holiday so people can go near it and Tam Boon (make merit).

There were many people walking around, taking in the sights, socializing, rehearsing and taking part in a ceremony being conducted in the meeting hall in Tung Sri Muang. There were also groups of young students panning the crowd like predators in search of prey. These groups had been given a project by their teachers to interview foreigners during the festival. So in this instance I was the prey.

One group spotted me and came running up to me with big smiles on their faces. They were students from Tesaban School in Warin Chamrap District.
They were 9-12 year olds and very polite. They asked me some questions and then requested I take a picture with them. After the photograph we parted ways but I soon heard some yelling and when I turned to look it was the students chasing me down. They had forgotten to get me to sign my name as additional proof they had actually talked to me. I hope it was as enjoyable experience or them as it was for me.

I moved on to visit the Ubon Ratchathani National Museum located at the far end of Tung Sri Muang. There was a 30 Baht fee for foreigners to enter. At the entrance is s sign stating no photos allowed unless approved by the director so I just looked. It was interesting to learn about the history of the Ubon area both geologically and historically. I saw some places I know I need to visit soon. I had been looking for places with Khmer style buildings like I had seen in Srisaket but until my visit to the museum I had no idea if there were any in Ubon Ratchahtani province.

After the museum I was again confronted by a group of students. This group was from Ah-shee-wa also known as Ubon Vocational School.
The four students were 16-19 years of age and were more timid and subdued than the elementary students. They had an interview sheet printed in English but had a hard time reading the questions so I helped out the girl who was doing the interviewing. The mandatory photographs were taken and I walked away to look at the International Wax Sculpture Competition that was going on. Again I was chased down because they forgot to get me to sign the interview sheet.

The International Wax Sculpture Competition was interesting because the themes were unique to each country.
The Candle masterpieces that were created by the temples had Buddhist and Monarchy theme. The French team was creating a wax likeness of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The Chinese team created an interesting sculpture, a large bird, wings spread as in flight and perched atop what appeared to be a globe. Skirting around the area of the wax sculpturing were displays demonstrating the process of wax making. Very interesting.

As with any big event, parking can be a problem. Both for the organizers and the visitors. Often it's easier to use public transportation then to fight traffic and spend a lot of time looking for available parking.
I chose to ride a songtaew for that very reason. My decision was positively supported when upon exiting the park I happened upon a mass of motorcycles. It was an amazing sight. Looking over the hundreds of motorcycles I couldn't help but wonder to myself what happens when someone comes back and is ready to leave but their bike is in center mass. Would they wait? Would they go back to the festival and return later? Would they attempt to rearrange the herd in order to free their bike? I had no answer and as it was getting hot and I was getting hungry and tired I wasn't going to wait around to find out.

It was time to go and an end to my festive and interesting morning at Tung Sri Muang Park during the Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival 2007.