Buddha-Park

If you arrive from the Thailand side of the river or 🇹🇭Nong Khai🇹🇭, this is what you'll see when you arrive. There are big trees that will keep you cool in the shade and a few shops in case you're hungry or thirsty after your short boat ride from the kingdom.

I first came to this park in 2001, but that was so long ago that I can barely remember this place, and the camera I was using that day was one of the OG digital cameras by Sony that saved to a floppy disk. It was cool at the time, but this same exact picture I took at the time was way smaller and pixelated than this and was super dark. It feels like digital cameras are about a thousand times better than they were a quarter century ago. I wish my wisdom, maturity, and bank account had the same exponential improvement over that time. I don't think you can get inside the middle area very easily, but I do remember making friends with a monk, and he showed me how to get in. There are signs that say that people over the age of 50 should not enter this structure. It's less than five years away for me, so that warning made me feel old, but then good again when it was still easy to climb. It's a bit scary at the top, though.