Thailand Guide
The northeast: Isaan
Wat Phu Tok
Address: 172km east of Nong Khai, or 35km southeast of Bung Kan
The most compelling destination in the area to the east of Nong Khai is the extraordinary hilltop retreat of Wat Phu Tok. One of two sandstone outcrops that jut steeply out of the plain, Phu Tok has been transformed into a meditation temple, its fifty or so monks building their scattered huts on perches high above breathtaking cliffs. The outcrop comes into sight long before you get there, its sheer red face sandwiched between green vegetation on the lower slopes and tufts of trees on the narrow plateau above. As you get closer, the horizontal white lines across the cliffs reveal themselves to be painted wooden walkways, built to give the temple seven levels to represent the seven stages of enlightenment.
The first part of the ascent of the outcrop takes you to the third level up a series of long, sometimes slippery, wooden staircases, the first of many for which you'll need something more sturdy than flip-flops on your feet. A choice of two routes – the left fork is more interesting – leads to the fifth and most important level, where the Sala Yai houses the temple's main Buddha image in an airy, dimly lit cavern. The artificial ledges that cut across the northeast face are not for the fainthearted, but they are one way of getting to the dramatic northwest tip here on level five: on the other side of a deep crevice spanned by a wooden bridge, the monks have built an open-sided Buddha assembly hall under a huge anvil rock (though its gate is usually locked). The flat top of the hill forms the seventh level, where you can wander along overgrown paths through thick forest.
Getting to Wat Phu Tok isn't easy – the location was chosen for its isolation, after all. The best option is to hire a motorbike in Nong Khai, as it's a real slog by public transport, which begins with catching a bus to Bung Kan; once there, you might be lucky enough to coincide with one of the occasional pick-ups to Phu Tok via Ban Siwilai, 25km south on Route 222; otherwise, take one of the hourly buses to Siwilai and charter a motorized cycle rickshaw (B200–250) for the last 20km east to Phu Tok.