Ban Chiang (บ้านเชียง)

Ban Chiang is well known for its archaeological wonders. It was nominated as UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 1992. Ban Chiang is located in Nong Han District and is about 55km from Udon. Ton and Kai came to pick us up at about 2pm and we headed to Highway No 22 (Udonthani-Sakon Nakorn Route) before turning into Highway 2225. After about 30 minutes, we arrived at Tambon Ban Chiang where the main museum is located. The ticket to enter the museum is 30Baht per head for Thai. I am not sure about foreigners. In the museum, there are many antiques and old artifacts.

Ban Chiang was the origin of a pre-historic civilization. It is believe to be 5000 years old. We went into the museum and look around. It was amazing to see old artifacts and antiques which is about 5000 years old. The time we went, there were only few local tourists. The museum is open everyday except for Monday and Tuesday from 9am to 4pm. Noon and I were still looking around with few other tourists and a staff appeared from nowhere told us that they are about to close the museum because it is almost 4pm.

He told us to go to Wat Po Si Nai where the ancient pots and other old artifacts were found together with the bodies. They were buried together with the bodies. So we drove to Wat Po Si Nai which is just a walking distance from the museum. Before that, there are several shops which sell souvenirs. Noon went to buy ice tea from a shop there. The price is more expensive than in Udon city.

We spent about 10 minutes in Wat Po Si Nai before all of us agreed to go back. We drove through the small town of Ban Chiang. It is a very quiet town. More like a village. If you wish to have a peaceful life, maybe Ban Chiang should be in the list. We followed the board leading us back to the main highway and passed by a busy market. The time is about 4:30pm. The night market was about to begin. There were a lot of stalls and people. The market is located in front of Wat Saked and its surrounding.

The seller told us that they only set up the night market every Wednesday. I guess we were lucky since it was Wednesday on the day we visited Ban Chiang. Food and items are cheaper compared to the city. I bought my Bangkok Glass FC’s fake kit here for 77Baht. The original price was 79Baht and I only had 7Baht coins at that moment.

Noon bought fishes to be grilled for dinner with 60Baht per kg. The fishes were still alive the time we bought. At around 5:30pm, we left Ban Chiang for Udon and arrive exactly at 6pm.