Ubon Ratchathani: Side Quest to Thailand’s Northeast

Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand

If you’re looking for somewhere in Thailand that isn’t on the typical tourist trail, Ubon Ratchathani might surprise you.

One of the main cities in Thailand’s Isan region, Ubon is best known for its famous Candle Festival in July, which marks the beginning of Buddhist Lent.

But outside of festival season, the city is quiet, friendly and, for the most part, completely free of tourists.

That’s exactly what made it perfect for our latest side quest, a week away from Bangkok to experience another part of Thailand we hadn’t explored yet.

A Week in Ubon Ratchathani

Ubon Ratchathani has one of those Thai place names that’s difficult enough for foreigners to remember or pronounce, which is probably why most Thais just shorten it to Ubon.

What you don’t hear very often, though, are farangs saying they’re heading there for a week.

And that became the running curiosity everywhere we went.

“Why Ubon?”

Also, just to be clear — it’s Ubon, not Udon.

One letter. Big difference.

Why Ubon?

Before moving to Bangkok, we’d already visited many of Thailand’s better-known destinations.

Now, every couple of months, we like to plan what we call a side quest, usually a week somewhere new.

When it was my turn to choose, I opened the map, looked northeast and spotted a long name I wanted to try pronouncing.

Ubon Ratchathani.

That was enough reason for me.

And just like the locals asked us all week, plenty of our Bangkok friends asked exactly the same thing:

Why Ubon?

Because sometimes it’s fun to go somewhere simply because you haven’t been there before.

Getting There

There are trains and buses from Bangkok to Ubon, but unless you enjoy overnight travel with not-quite-enough sleep, flying is definitely the easier option.

We took a one-hour flight from Bangkok and booked our flights and hotel together through Trip.com, which had a great deal at the time.

Quick and easy.

Exactly how I like to start a relaxing week away.

Where We Stayed

We stayed at Centara Ubon, which connects directly to the large shopping mall next door.

It felt very much like a conference hotel, with most guests seemingly there for business events rather than a week-long holiday.

Which made us stand out even more than usual.

At 180 cm tall, I already tend to stand out in Thailand. Add being a female farang somewhere with very few foreign tourists and I wasn’t exactly blending in. 😜

Our room was spacious, with a huge king bed, bay-window seating, big TV and daily servicing with fresh towels and bottled water.

Breakfast at Butter & Bread was a full buffet with Thai and Western options, coffee and juice.

We also had dinner there twice. The pasta was delicious, the homemade bread was excellent and they had a live acoustic band playing every night for a couple of hours.

So naturally, we timed dinner accordingly.

The hotel also has a good-sized pool with loungers and a poolside bar, perfect for lazy afternoons after the gym.

What We Did in Ubon

This wasn’t a sightseeing-mission kind of trip.

Our days quickly fell into a very easy routine:

Buffet breakfast → gym → coffee → lunch → pool → dinner.

Honestly, not a bad way to spend a week.

Getting around was easy and we used Grab everywhere.

We didn’t rent a car, which meant we skipped some of the attractions outside the city, including Pha Taem National Park and the glow-in-the-dark temple.

And that was fine.

We weren’t there for the Candle Festival either, as we visited in October.

This side quest wasn’t about ticking off every attraction.

It was about slowing down and seeing what everyday Ubon was like.

Cafés & Food We Loved

If Ubon has one underrated strength, it’s definitely its cafés.

There were so many creative little places to try, usually at prices that felt refreshingly un-Bangkok.

KOLé Bakery Bar
They had some of the most impressive Halloween decorations we saw anywhere. Apparently they go all-out for Halloween and Christmas. We tried one of the Halloween cakes and it was delicious.

SongSarn Coffee & Home Roaster
A great little coffee stop near the old town.

Kràthá Kít Chên
Traditional Thai food and our first lunch in Ubon. A good start to the week.

Double U Coffee & Eatery
This is where I discovered my first espresso-matcha combination. Instantly obsessed. Their omurice with chicken basil and omelette was also excellent.

Impression Sunrise
Thai toast. Simple and so good.

Yotei Sushi
Surprisingly, one of the best sushi meals we’d had in a long time. Great quality and really well priced.

We also attempted to visit Wab Cafe, but it was closed for renovations. Can’t win them all.

A Few Ubon Must-Sees

We did manage to squeeze in a little sightseeing between eating and going to the gym.

Thung Sri Mueang Park was a nice, peaceful walk with lots of squirrels.

Wat Luang was beautiful and calming.

But Wat Phra That Nong Bua was my favourite.

We arrived while the monks were chanting and it was incredibly special just standing there and listening.

As always when visiting temples in Thailand, dress respectfully.

We didn’t make it to the night markets because it rained most evenings. 

There’s also street art around the old town that’s worth looking out for while you’re wandering around.

Where We Trained

Obviously, a week-long side quest meant finding some gyms.

I reviewed three while we were in Ubon:

Fitster Club, Home Gym and French Gym.

They were all quite different, but French Gym was my personal favourite.

The Feel of Ubon

Ubon was affordable, easy to get around and incredibly friendly.

Everywhere we went, people smiled and a little bit of English was enough to get by.

There wasn’t a huge list of attractions we felt we had to rush around and see.

And maybe that’s what I liked about it.

We just spent a week living at a much slower pace.

My Final Thoughts

Would we return?

Probably not.

But I’m really glad we went.

Ubon was exactly what one of our side quests should be, somewhere new, a reset from Bangkok and a chance to experience another part of Thailand that we probably wouldn’t otherwise have seen.

If you find yourself in Ubon, hopefully this gives you somewhere to start, especially if, like us, you care about food, coffee and a good workout each day.

Sometimes the best adventures aren’t the ones where you do everything.

They’re the ones where you finally allow yourself to do nothing at all.

Stay strong, stay travelling, and keep the adventure alive 🏋️‍♀️✈️🌏

Message me if you have any questions or want to know more!

Travel, move, repeat.

Mi-Ree 🧡