Talay Bua Daeng, also known as the Red Lotus Sea in English, is the main tourist attraction in the northern province Udon Thani.
This large lake of several square kilometres is covered in millions of beautifully coloured flowers which open at night and provide a spectacular early morning sight on a sunrise cruise with a hired boat.

The Red Lotus Lake is located about 45 minutes
south east of the city Udon Thani near the town of Kumphawapi.
Transort options include day tours, taxi, train or rental car.
Over the years most tourists used to stay in the city and get up
well before day break for the bus trip to the lake and straight
after return again. This was because there was a lack of qualtiy
accommodation at the lake but with the establishment of Bua Daeng
Resort this has changed and more people now choose to stay near
the lake so in the early morning you only need a few minutes to
get to the boat.
At the lake there is an office which manages all the boat hire,
buy your tickets here and they will assign you a boat, costs are
about 400 to 600 baht for an hour, depending on the size of boat
you will need with your group.
During the busy season from December to February there can be a
queue to get on the boats, at Bua Daeng Resort we can try to book your
boat for you to save you waiting in the morning.

The blooming of the flowers is dependent on the
weather, and most spectacular during the cooler time of year from
November to February.
The flowers open at night and close during the day, hence the early
start you need to make to see them around sunrise, around 11 AM
they will be closed up again.
The boat hire office tends to close during the low season in the
warmer time of year but at Bua Daeng Resort the flowers open all
year round.
During the closure in the off-season the locals take their boats
out to fish in this lake.

DId you know that the flowers are open all night?
At Bua Daeng Resort we have floodlights on our lakes and you can already
see the flowers opening from about 8PM the night before.

Besides the lotus flowers this lake also has many
birds to delight the bird watchers.
The lake and its surrounding area has been declared a Non-Hunting
area and you will see fowl, egrets and herons.
The lotus flowers and stems are also edible and several restaurants
in the area have them on the menu.
There are plenty of boats available to take you around the red lotus lake