As promised, this is the first in a long series of posts about waterfalls in Ubon Ratchathani and surrounding areas. Huai Luang Waterfall (น้ำตกห้วยหลวง, Royal Stream), also known as Bak Tew Waterfall (น้ำตกบักเตว), is a 40 meter waterfall in Phu Jong Na Yoi National Park of Southern Ubon. Whenever I mention Huai Luang to local friends, they usually respond with “oh, you mean Bak Tew.” Bak Tew is Khmer for “Beautiful Room” and when you’re down by the waterfall that description makes a lot of sense. Bak Tew is also the name of a man who supposedly committed suicide by jumping off the waterfall due to a broken heart. Poor guy. Call it what you will, it’s still a spectacular place to visit even when it’s just a trickle in dry season. From downtown Ubon it takes around 2 hours to get there (less if the traffic is good or you drive fast). It is 128 kilometers from the intersection on the ring road that heads South to Det Udom. If possible, go on a weekday and leave early in the morning so that when you arrive, the sun is shining on the waterfall. If you wait until afternoon, the sun goes behind the cliff and it’s not quite as spectacular and the water feels colder.