Talay Bua Daeng

Or if you want the English translation: “Red lotus sea”; which is bollocks because it is not a sea and the flowers are more purple than red; but that’s the name so live with it.

Talay bua daeng is about forty kilometres south of Udon Thani, which means it is a sod of a long way from Pattaya; which is why we took two days to get there, stopping at a sunflower field and Prasat Hin Phimai along the way. We arrived just before sunset and the lake was immediately something of a disappointment, not a sign of lilies. Still, we jumped into a boat and set off for a little tour and indeed lilies were to be found once you went deeper into the lake. Being almost sunset, the flowers had packed up being pretty for the day, so I took just one sunset shot before we headed back for some food.

She who must be obeyed had booked a home stay for us, which was conveniently located just five minutes walk from the lake; and only two minutes walk from a very acceptable restaurant which served good food and cold beer, and was only spoiled by the presence of an exceedingly drunk Australian who was mouthing off in an extremely obnoxious manner. My wife advised me later that I had made it very clear that I did not enjoy his “company”. Good.

The next morning we were up at 0500 and, after a breakfast of coffee and rice cakes, onto the first boat to leave the jetty at 0600. You purchase a trip of a certain duration, but then can negotiate with the driver to stay out longer and take you wherever you want to go.

It was still too dark for photos when we arrived at the lilies, but once the sun rose it was time to point the cameras.

It wasn’t long before more boats arrived, and most people seem to have the same motivation that was evident at the sunflower fields; take photos of yourself and your friends with the flowers. I joined in and took two photos of my wife, only one of which was deemed passable. Never mind, she supplemented my feeble efforts with a bunch of selfies. Unlike the sunflower fields, the lake was a very pleasant place to be on a cool winter’s morning and I enjoyed the experience.

The light was very variable, with the flowers jumping from dark to light purple when the sun came through the clouds, but here are a few shots:

After two hours we headed back to the jetty. Would happily have stayed out longer, but there was the drive home yet to be undertaken (the cat was missing us apparently). The next eight hours were relatively relaxing, thanks to the car; with occasional moments of terror as assorted dickheads attempted to wipe us out. Met with indifference by the cat and slept very well.

Talay Bua Daeng is worth a visit, even more so in January when the lilies take over more of the lake. Go early.

Olympus E-M1 with Olympus 40-150mm and Olympus 12-40mm

Comments 🔗

2014-12-15 | jon sutton says

In the picture of the blunt end of the orange boat, a large bird appears to be depth charging something

2014-12-15 | Grant says

It could be diving on the sunken body of the drunken Australian…

2014-12-15 | Chang Noi says

No. nnnn467 is stunning! Well if you are coming next month again we can join a boat together ….

2014-12-15 | ChristianPFC says

Thank you for sharing. I will go in January. Do you have information about public transport from/to next major town/hotel, and how much does the boat trip cost and how is it organized (charter a boat for yourself or wait for other traveler to share the cost?)?

2014-12-15 | Clive says

No, that’s a Special Forces drone. Apparently the mystery submarine that has been trying to infiltrate Stokholm Harbour has been hiding out in that lake disguised as a Lilly. A few dabs of pink/purple paint on the conning tower (sic) had everyone fooled…

2014-12-15 | Spike says

No idea about transport. Boat trips are 300 baht and 500 baht for a predefined route. You get the boat to yourself. We took the 300 baht trip and then told the driver we wanted to stop at various points and stay out longer. Gave him a nice tip at the end.

2014-12-15 | Spike says

I will contact you if we come back. P.S. Thanks for the Bang Saray restaurant reviews, already been to the Indian.

2014-12-16 | Chang Noi says

As far as I know there is no public transport, although I am sure there will be local songtheauw’s going to the village and school. And as the northern train line is passing at about 15 km from the lake that might be the closed thing of public transport. The next major town would be Udon Thani, but the next major village will be Kumphawapi (bus service to/from Udon Thani). As Spike said there is a hotel / resort nearby and that did look good (from the outside). Mid January there will be a festival at the nearby temple.

2014-12-23 | **** says

Looks like a great trip and a good location to spend a couple of days !!