Khemmarat, a charming district in my hometown
Published:
Have I told you that I’m not a Bangkokian girl? My hometown is actually one of the biggest provinces in the Northeast of Thailand, Ubonratchatani. There is not much to do in the town itself, but there are several districts that are worth a visit if you come to this province, and I recommend you go to Khemmarat (เขมราฐ)!
This trip happened not so long after I was back from Taiwan with my grandmothers. My parents proudly presented me about their wonderful journey in Khemmarat. Recently, tourism in Khemmarat has been promoted tremendously. The governor has devoted some space to build a night market, and they are promoting Thai indigo cloth to be the leading product in the market. Apart from those recently built attractions, Khemmarat has quite a long history with several old temples.
The trip was only two days and a night. We started by having lunch by the Mekong river at Kong Paneang (กงพะเนียง). Ubon Ratchathani is known for fish dishes such as fried fish, spicy fish soup, and diced fried fish with sweet and spicy sauce. This restaurant did not disappoint us: the fish was fresh and tasteful, and the river was tranquil.
After that, we went to Wat Pak Sang (วัดปากแซง) which is also located nearby the river. The temple was a bit chaotic, contrasting with the calm Mekong: lots of tourists were making merit while the villagers were diligently selling their farm products. To avoid the chaos inside the temple, my dad and I went to buy some baby fish and gently pour them onto the river bank.
Then, in the evening, we went to the night market (thanon-khon-duean ถนนคนเดิน). The market street was not as long as I thought, but the vibe was incredible! There was a Thai performance show in the middle of the market. Thai women were dancing song after song, entertaining foreigners and Thais till sunset. Meanwhile, our family was seated in Pinto Anya (ปิ่นโตอัญญา), the restaurant opposite to the stage. This restaurant is famous for its food presentation. They served food in Thai food containers, Pinto. We got some Khuay Jub(กวยจั๊บ), Vietnamese style rice noodle with pork sausage, and some seasoning eggs in the pan.
How can I not be in love with this place?
Before we went home, my parents drove us to another temple called Boong Kee Lek (วัดบุ่งขี้เหล็ก.) The highlight of this temple is multiple rows of white and gold Buddha statues. We went to pay homage to the statues. Although this place was also considered a favorite tourist attraction at that time, I did not see a crowd as in the other places we went. The serenity of the temple calmed us down, and that was a perfect ending to this trip.
The Canadian Rockies had never truly been on our radar, not for lack of awareness, but simply because we never imagined we’d have the opportunity to visit Canada. That changed entirely when I was invited to the prestigious Women in Numbers workshop at the Banff International Research Station. Seizing the moment, we decided to turn this milestone trip into a grand adventure, arriving a few days early to explore not just Banff, but a stunning circuit of five neighboring national parks, including, Jasper, Yoho, Glacier, Mount Revelstoke, and Kootenay.
One of the most popular National Park routes that Poy and I hadn’t tackled yet was the Utah ‘Mighty Five.’ We’d heard nothing but non-stop hype from friends, and after checking off several harder-to-reach destinations, we decided it was finally time to go for it! We initially tried to squeeze in Great Basin National Park in Nevada, but a car shortage at the Las Vegas airport left us with an electric vehicle. As it turns out, there are no non-Tesla charging stations near Great Basin (aside from one incredibly slow charger), so we pivoted. We ended up focusing solely on the five Utah gems, which actually made for a much more relaxing, less rushed experience.
There are not many national parks that are ideal to visit in winter, except for those in the desert. For this Christmas trip, we chose three desert national parks, namely, Petrified Forest, Saguaro, and Joshua Tree. In addition to these, we also stopped by some of the most iconic landmarks in Arizona’s desert landscape, including Horseshoe Bend and Monument Valley. It was a dry, sandy, and breathtaking Christmas. One that turned out to be truly memorable for both of us.
Despite the polar vortex that swept through Illinois, we decided to visit Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio, driving from our home in Champaign. Along the way, we got to meet some friends in Cincinnati and Akron. In fact, we didn’t stop only at Cuyahoga Valley; we also continued on to see a much bigger set of falls in upstate New York—Niagara Falls. Everything was freezing cold, but the fresh snow somehow gave the entire trip a magical atmosphere.