After Tom and I departed the friendly Thai Police station after being hit by a teen on a motorcycle, it was time to continue the journey to Amphur (Amphoe) Khemmarat in Ubon Ratchathani Province.

We made one more stop along the way to Ubon Ratchathani for some BBQ chicken and sticky rice and for Tom to have a temporary tape job done to his truck.

Khemmarat Ubon Ratchathani Campsite

Since Tom (Isaan-Live) is a wizard at Google maps and at using his new Samsung Galaxy Smart Phone for using said maps, he had no problem getting us to the small area in Khemmarat Ubon Ratchathani that would be our home for the night.

Tom had been to Khemmarat Ubon Ratchathani before and knew exactly where he wanted to set up the tents.  He had a good area to park, next to a small shop that sold beer and snacks, and a short walk to a sandy area overlooking the Mekong (Mekhong) River that we could set up our tents.

There was also a sandy area that led from up top where Tom parked down to the Mekong River’s edge.  The water in the Mekong River here in Khemmarat Ubon Ratchathani was down considerably from last year’s heavy rains and floods, but still had a ways to go down.

After having a beer or two, I got out my metal detecting equipment (Minelab Excalibur II) and started my hunt.  There were very few targets and all that I found after about 45 minutes was a one-baht coin and a tag for dogs that indicates that the dog has had his rabies shots.

A little disappointed, but no big deal as it was time to set up the tents before it got dark.  Gear was secured in the tents or locked in the truck, and we spent a bit of time drinking beer and chatting with the shop owner and the occasional customer.  The lady at the shop was extremely nice and let Tom use a power strip to charge his phone and keep connected to the Internet (Tom can’t go more than 12 minutes without a Tweet on Twitter).  She also allowed us to use her bathroom that was attached to the rear of the shop/house.

We settled into the tents early as we planned to be up before sunrise for some photos and an early start to Mukdahan.  It was a bit windy, nice and cool, and no signs of mosquitoes anywhere.  I had a decent sleep and was up at about 0500 to await the sunrise.

Sunrise was nothing special as there was low cloud cover and a bit of a haze.  So, we packed up the gear and headed out for our next stop on the road trip – Mukdahan.

So, farewell Khemmarat Ubon Ratchathani – until we meet again.

Tags: camping excalibur Khemmarat metal detecting minelab Ubon Ratchathani