Saturday 15th March 2014

Crescendo.....If you thought the Laos tour would end with a whimper you'd be wrong. Sites of historical importance have featured strongly on this website, and today I'm about to visit a most significant site in northeast Thailand but first some breakfast and after a free coffee in reception I'm off to get a dish known as 'khai ghata', meat and vegetables cooked with egg in a hot pan; ridiculously cheap as well! I'm collected from the residence at 9 am and head off east for about 50 kilometres.
Ban Chiang National Museum.....It may not be a name that rolls off the tongue, but Ban Chiang is only one of five World Heritage Sites in Thailand classified by UNESCO for its historical significance and the only one I've never visited. Today I put that right and what I find at the site is well beyond what I imagined and fully deserves its status. Also put to rights is the fact that this location was carried forward from a planned visit last year so that in the grand scheme of things, the second half of my current visit to the Far East hasn't gone badly at all.
As I arrive at the site what strikes me immediately is the amount of thought gone into layout of the visitor centre and grounds. As I venture into the museum itself the whole thing springs to life with excellent presentation of what has been discovered here over the last 50 years. These discoveries are the result of painstaking archeological research of the type familiar to me by the Time Team programs back home except there is a huge difference in scale.
What has been uncovered here is evidence of a civilization that has turned traditional thinking on its head. The results of excavations have confirmed that the site dates back over 5,000 years making it arguably the earliest civilization known to man and in the most unlikely of places. With the exhibition halls set out in a visitor friendly way around a dig site and expertly cataloged exhibits, it's more than enough to stir the imagination. Just a short distance from the museum is Wat Pho Sri Nai Archaeological Excavation Pit which should not be missed. Given the importance of this location, of course I will include it among my featured sites. However, while Ban Chiang has stolen the limelight it is becoming more and more obvious that Ban Chiang Historical Site may just be the tip of the iceberg. A vast area of Thailand's northeast is yielding similar sites, the implication of which is beyond our understanding at this present time.
Thai Puan.....Interestingly, there is another exhibition hall attached to the museum, and normally I would not give it my full attention as it relates to the culture of the people who presently live here. However, by sheer coincidence there is an important connection between these peoples known as Thai Puan and the Puan civilization that existed in Xieng Kouang Province where I was based not so long ago. It seems they were driven south by invaders in the 18th century. The hall contains exhibits that were of a type still used in daily life together with an insight into religious beliefs.
Understandably I've spent far longer here than I imagined at Ban Chiang. Three hours would not be too long at this site. It's time to head back, and my guide breaks for some lunch. My afternoon's planned rest seems as if it won’t last long though.
On the right tracks.....On the right tracks.....Still in awe of what I've seen today I venture out in late afternoon on more familiar business. Yes, it's been so conspicuous to me by its absence, but a visit to the train station is long overdue, but I'm not there to buy a ticket. My journey back to Bangkok tomorrow is already secured. I will travel by tour bus departing at 10.30 am. Initially there is no activity at the station; it's too early, and I head back to U.D. to write my blog. However, I need something for dinner and head back to the station where departures for the overnight trains to Bangkok are imminent. It's been a great day today, and I'm rightly relieved to end this tour on a high. It's just a snack dinner though before I turn in.
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