Lotus blossom lake

Things to do and places to see in Udon Thani.
nabanga
udonmap.com
Posts: 32
Joined: January 15, 2009, 12:00 pm

Lotus blossom lake

Post by nabanga » December 5, 2017, 8:26 pm

Hi - I am a long term resident of Vientiane and enjoy a big-city escape to Udon every couple of months. Does anybody know if the famous lake covered in flowers is in blossom yet? The wife wont shut up about it. Thanks



User avatar
Adhoc
udonmap.com
Posts: 393
Joined: February 21, 2009, 11:28 am

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by Adhoc » December 5, 2017, 10:56 pm

Yes, it's opened a bit earlier than usual this year. I went there last week, great trip.

User avatar
Hoopoe
udonmap.com
Posts: 810
Joined: January 31, 2015, 5:15 pm

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by Hoopoe » December 6, 2017, 3:08 am

nabanga wrote:
December 5, 2017, 8:26 pm
Hi - I am a long term resident of Vientiane and enjoy a big-city escape to Udon every couple of months. Does anybody know if the famous lake covered in flowers is in blossom yet? The wife wont shut up about it. Thanks
The blooms are up on the south East side the rest will follow soon , the best time to go (IMHO) is mid January onwards , as there's more wild life then , the swallows etc come in and follow the boats ,

User avatar
Hoopoe
udonmap.com
Posts: 810
Joined: January 31, 2015, 5:15 pm

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by Hoopoe » January 2, 2018, 4:13 pm

Hoopoe wrote:
December 6, 2017, 3:08 am
nabanga wrote:
December 5, 2017, 8:26 pm
Hi - I am a long term resident of Vientiane and enjoy a big-city escape to Udon every couple of months. Does anybody know if the famous lake covered in flowers is in blossom yet? The wife wont shut up about it. Thanks
The blooms are up on the south East side the rest will follow soon , the best time to go (IMHO) is mid January onwards , as there's more wild life then , the swallows etc come in and follow the boats ,
Hi guy's just an up date , i've been out on the lake today 6 hours in all , it was quite pleasant , i was expecting the chill factor ,9 am start , full bloom , by 11.30 am they had started to close up ,after 12.30 pm from a distance you would think it was a mud bank , so as advised previously get there at the latest 9 am , take warm clothing just in case the breeze starts , the pics are in reverse order 12.30 pm - 9 am
Attachments
Photo1580[1].jpg
Photo1578[1].jpg
Photo1576[1].jpg
Photo1568[1].jpg

Faraday
udonmap.com
Posts: 499
Joined: December 4, 2015, 10:53 pm

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by Faraday » January 2, 2018, 7:31 pm

Looks very nice, Mrs F & I intend to go later this month.

Any decent & inexpensive hotels nearby?

User avatar
UdonThaniPete
udonmap.com
Posts: 179
Joined: April 5, 2017, 9:55 am
Location: Udon Thani

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by UdonThaniPete » January 2, 2018, 8:57 pm

Hoopoe wrote:
January 2, 2018, 4:13 pm
Hoopoe wrote:
December 6, 2017, 3:08 am
nabanga wrote:
December 5, 2017, 8:26 pm
Hi - I am a long term resident of Vientiane and enjoy a big-city escape to Udon every couple of months. Does anybody know if the famous lake covered in flowers is in blossom yet? The wife wont shut up about it. Thanks
The blooms are up on the south East side the rest will follow soon , the best time to go (IMHO) is mid January onwards , as there's more wild life then , the swallows etc come in and follow the boats ,
Hi guy's just an up date , i've been out on the lake today 6 hours in all , it was quite pleasant , i was expecting the chill factor ,9 am start , full bloom , by 11.30 am they had started to close up ,after 12.30 pm from a distance you would think it was a mud bank , so as advised previously get there at the latest 9 am , take warm clothing just in case the breeze starts , the pics are in reverse order 12.30 pm - 9 am

We were actually there at 07:30 this morning, this is probably our fith or sixth visit here over a 8 years, I must admit that we were quite shocked by the damage that has been done to the Lilly beds by the boats, you can actually see the damage done by the propellor blades, where once were beautiful Lilly’s there was nothing, only chopped stems.
Not really surprising as what you see on the roads here you see on the lake, wacky races, as it’s a game to get people out there, cutting corners in the Lilly beds and destroying the Lilly’s, parking up for photos in the Lilly beds then hammering it back for their next customers.
They are so short sighted to see the damage they are causing, they will have no more customers as there will be nothing more to see and then have no more jobs, I guesstimate if they continue as they are without some rules or guidance, it will be finished in 5 years, this would be such a shame but looks like usual TIT.
A pessimist see’s a difficulty in every opportunity,
A optimist see’s an opportunity in every difficulty,
I am the latter.

User avatar
rick
udonmap.com
Posts: 3238
Joined: January 9, 2008, 10:36 am
Location: Udon, or UK May-August

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by rick » January 2, 2018, 9:37 pm

I'm lucky and have a red lotus lake on my doorstep (well, 100 metres away). Only about 50 rai but most of it has lotus on it, I see it every day i take my daughter to school. At it's best about 8.30 a.m. Has been spectacular since late November.

User avatar
Hoopoe
udonmap.com
Posts: 810
Joined: January 31, 2015, 5:15 pm

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by Hoopoe » January 3, 2018, 4:43 am

Faraday wrote:
January 2, 2018, 7:31 pm
Looks very nice, Mrs F & I intend to go later this month.

Any decent & inexpensive hotels nearby?
Hi ,Re-hotels , it depends where your going onto the lake from ,as most of the bloom's are located south East i would suggest somewhere along the 2350 Kumphawapi - Nonghan rd ( pref 7 kilometers out of Kumphawapi) along this rd there are quite a few places to stay ,mini resorts etc or if the little resorts are not to your liking there's always KP hotel not far from the railway station Kumphawapi ,

nabanga
udonmap.com
Posts: 32
Joined: January 15, 2009, 12:00 pm

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by nabanga » February 2, 2018, 2:29 pm

We went last weekend and were pleasantly surprised. I had no idea it was so popular - I had expected a lay-by with a few boatmen waiting around, but it was a full-on tourist circus with a tarsealed carpark the size of a footy field and about 200 matching boats.
We opted for the 500 baht ticket, which allegedly takes you further, for 90 minutes, instead of the 300 baht to a closer area for 60 minutes. In reality our 90 minute trip only lasted 60 minutes with a 10 minute sprint back to the start, so the boatmen are obviously trying to squeeze a few extra "90 minute" trips into their 6 hour window.
The lotus beds were huge and in full bloom, all around a small island with a few bamboo houses on it - very picturesque, even with 10 other boats full of jabbering package tourists in matching shirts and caps pulling up along side you. And what was nice, that you don't often get on boat trips like this, is that nobody tried to sell you anything.
We'd go again.

User avatar
wazza
udonmap.com
Posts: 9019
Joined: April 2, 2006, 9:06 pm
Location: Cuba- Drove around in an Ol 55 Chev - On the Prowl
Contact:

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by wazza » February 2, 2018, 8:35 pm

The Island was off limits last time I went, anyone know why ??

User avatar
Hoopoe
udonmap.com
Posts: 810
Joined: January 31, 2015, 5:15 pm

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by Hoopoe » February 2, 2018, 10:18 pm

wazza wrote:
February 2, 2018, 8:35 pm
The Island was off limits last time I went, anyone know why ??
I'll check with the monks ,see if i get ant sense out of them , will report back if i get an answer ,

User avatar
Hoopoe
udonmap.com
Posts: 810
Joined: January 31, 2015, 5:15 pm

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by Hoopoe » February 3, 2018, 11:05 am

Reet ( dont sack the messenger ) this is the info i've obtained ( maybe some of it lost in translation ) the island was given ( by the Government ) to monks as a refuge for deep meditation & budhist practices ,as a sanctuary ,back when i first went on there 20 years ago, there were only 2 small stilted huts for a maximum of no more than 2 monks at a time ,were allowed, it has since over the years been built on & commercialised and become a profit making business , The government has stepped in and closed it down & taken the monks off it ,as it is now not being used as first intended ,, in the next few weeks i'll go and check this out and try to verify this , so will it open again is blowing in the wind ,

User avatar
Hoopoe
udonmap.com
Posts: 810
Joined: January 31, 2015, 5:15 pm

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by Hoopoe » February 7, 2018, 10:06 am

My previous post i have now verified it ,it is true the reason for stopping people going onto the island , BUT it's convenient for the boat men as now they can curtail the time they are out ,i had a lot of them with me last night , it never ceases to amaze me half of them didn't know why the island was out of bounds , ha ha ,ALSO it's not out of bounds for local people ,i will be on there as soon as the temps rise , bbq ,party etc ,yesterday it was very quiet ,( chae lae side of the lake ) very few tourist's , but this is during the week ,
Attachments
DSC_0001095.jpg
DSC_0001094.jpg
DSC_0001093.jpg

User avatar
wazza
udonmap.com
Posts: 9019
Joined: April 2, 2006, 9:06 pm
Location: Cuba- Drove around in an Ol 55 Chev - On the Prowl
Contact:

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by wazza » February 7, 2018, 12:20 pm

Hoopoe

Thanks for the update

User avatar
parrot
udonmap.com
Posts: 10925
Joined: March 19, 2006, 8:32 pm

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by parrot » February 7, 2018, 2:45 pm

There's a link at https://2baht.com/red-lotus-sea-udon/ that talks about the island........has a small temple there called Wat Dawn Luang (วัดดอนหลวง).
Attachments
Captureๅ.JPG
Capture-.JPG
Capture.JPG

User avatar
wazza
udonmap.com
Posts: 9019
Joined: April 2, 2006, 9:06 pm
Location: Cuba- Drove around in an Ol 55 Chev - On the Prowl
Contact:

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by wazza » February 7, 2018, 2:48 pm

Wondering if the Monks were charging the boat owners a fee to land there ???

And thats when the Govt intervened ??

User avatar
parrot
udonmap.com
Posts: 10925
Joined: March 19, 2006, 8:32 pm

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by parrot » February 7, 2018, 2:59 pm

I'm going to holed up in a fuselage for 20 or so hours........maybe I can dissect the history of the small temple on that island. Looks interesting.
Attachments
ojyvjjum00GLcMAJMQg-o.jpg

User avatar
Hoopoe
udonmap.com
Posts: 810
Joined: January 31, 2015, 5:15 pm

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by Hoopoe » February 7, 2018, 10:22 pm

I dont recall a temple on the island back 20 years , if you look around you'll find the blocks i used to manufacture they created a small alter ish with them , besides the 2 stilted huts they then began to build more , i hear different stories from the locals about it ,the only one i tend to believe is the sanctuary one as i witnessed this years ago , As for the monks charging the boat's for docking ,i doubt this very much as the guy's would have bent my ear about it long ago , in the report i read it stated it's a floating island ,this is not the case , hence the stilted huts , it is prone to flooding in the wet season ,

Bangyuk
udonmap.com
Posts: 33
Joined: January 11, 2014, 6:45 pm

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by Bangyuk » February 13, 2018, 9:27 am

One thing worth doing if you take a boat is to say you want to see birds. A few of the boatmen know the quieter parts of the lake. It's much more peaceful away from the continuous stream of boats for selfie takers, but you've still got the noisy engine of course. You do get time to take photos of the lotuses, and the bird watching is excellent if you are in to that kind of thing. At 500B for 90 mins it's good value I think.

User avatar
Hoopoe
udonmap.com
Posts: 810
Joined: January 31, 2015, 5:15 pm

Re: Lotus blossom lake

Post by Hoopoe » February 13, 2018, 5:23 pm

Bangyuk wrote:
February 13, 2018, 9:27 am
One thing worth doing if you take a boat is to say you want to see birds. A few of the boatmen know the quieter parts of the lake. It's much more peaceful away from the continuous stream of boats for selfie takers, but you've still got the noisy engine of course. You do get time to take photos of the lotuses, and the bird watching is excellent if you are in to that kind of thing. At 500B for 90 mins it's good value I think.
Absolutely correct ,there is more to the red lotus than meets the eye ,i have access to boats when ever i require and to travel slowly and quietly around the outskirts is a pleasure for the wild life / birds etc ,but best from mid January on , as there are more migratory birds in , But also on a different approach i also Party out there with my Thai friends , music , drinking & BBQ are involved and the odd dancing and falling in , hey ho ya can't win them all ,

Post Reply

Return to “Things to do in Udon Thani”