Wat Thung Si Mueang

About this Place

Wat Thung Si Mueang is Ubon Ratchathani's most historically significant temple, containing the city's most venerated Buddha images and a beautifully preserved 19th-century wooden scripture library (Ho Trai) that stands elevated on stilts over a pond to protect manuscripts from termites — an elegant traditional solution found at few temples outside the northeast. The temple sits adjacent to the city's main park and is the spiritual centre of Ubon's Candle Festival. The ordination hall (Bot) is decorated with murals depicting the Life of the Buddha in traditional northeastern style. The compound is serene and shaded, with large bodhi trees providing cool resting spots. The monks here are approachable and the atmosphere is genuinely devotional rather than tourist-oriented. The adjacent Thung Si Mueang park offers a pleasant complement — coffee vendors and morning exercise groups under old trees.