Traveling along the Thai Mekong

Chiang Khan, the starting point of this trip, is one of the most beautiful river locations in Thailand, and despite its tiny size, it has a surprisingly developed tourism infrastructure; most probably all of it will be fully dedicated to you since very few tourists arrive here. From there you will reach Pak Chom, a delightful market within a small village by the river. Srichiangmai, the next stop, offers sights of Vientiane, the Laotian capital, as well as a great promenade with a pleasant night market. Nong Khai marks midway. From here, you will cross from the western to the eastern part of your trip. The town hosts the Friendship Bridge to Laos, and you can read the relevant information in a separate journal. Nakhon Phanom and Mukdahan offer two other cross points to Laos as well as several interesting locations in their vicinity; see the Mukdahan journal for details. The trip ends at Kong Chiam, where the Mun River meets the Mekong and the latter enters the Laotian territory for the last time. The meeting of two big rivers doubles the reason of this river, and the town offers some superb meals on boat-restaurants.

Quick Tips:

Due to events deep into the 19th century, the Mekong River does not cross northern Thailand, except for a small area south from the Golden Triangle. From there, south to Chiang Khan, it is fully within Laos. Its Laotian part is very different in nature, much wilder, thus it is better to do it in a separate trip. Hence, the Thai section of the trip is limited to the river semicircular way around Isaan. Instead of being a limitation, the relative cultural homogeneity of that area allows you to experience it better.

Regarding the climate, Isaan is one of the hottest zones in the kingdom. Thus even in the cold season, there is no necessity to bring hot clothes for the trip. The zone is humid, especially in its western side, and in the monsoon season, so bringing some protection is essential. The area is not in a malaria-infested zone, but nearby, in the Laotian city of Savannakhet, there were a few cases of Dengue Fever in the last years, as a precaution I recommend to bring a DEET containing mosquito lotion.

Best Way To Get Around:

Unlike most of Thailand, this is a relatively complicated area to travel through. Buses reach only the main towns, trucks connect to the small villages, and there are whole areas where the only way to travel is with private transport. Western Isaan is less developed than the eastern part, but it offers better traveling commodities thus, I recommend starting there from Khon Kaen, the main city in the area. Since this trip draws a semicircle through Thailand’s northeastern lobe, you will never be more than a few hours away from that city or from Udon Thani, its neighbor to the north, thus aborting the mission in the case of necessity is a breeze. The different entries in this journal will give the relevant information regarding the best methods of transport on each stretch of the road.

Loei

The Thai Mekong draws a rough arch around Isaan and Khon Kaen, which is thus the optimal place for beginning such a trip. If – as recommended in this journal’s overview – the travel direction would be from north to south, then the town of Loei would be the first stop. An air conditioned bus to Loei from Khon Kaen costs 207B; leaving during the early hours of the day, would allow enjoying the sights along the way.

Loei is a good place from where to visit the four national parks in that area, but that is a topic for another entry. The town itself is small, surrounded by low hills and most of it built along the southern bank of the Loei River. The narrow river’s shores are not developed, creating thus the feeling of being in a small village and not in a province’s capital.

The town’s northern side is not more than a village with unpaved roads and no infrastructures. The solid, wide bridge connecting both sides looks oversized, with separate structures for every lane; it apparently leads to nowhere and serves mainly pedestrians.

Most Loei hotels are on the southern part’s center, one or two streets away from the river, and all of them feature just basic facilities. In the context of this trip along the Thai Mekong, it is better to continue to Chiang Khan on the same day; since that town is properly located on the Mekong itself and offers betters views and deals.

Loei’s bus station is fifteen minutes by foot east of the province’s administrative offices, on the junction between the highway with the town’s main road, Nok Kaew. From the bus stop depart big trucks to Chiang Khan, which is forty-nine kilometers to the north; the way longs one hour and the trip costs twenty baht.

Chiang Khan

Chiang Khan is an unusual village due to its organization level; it has twenty numbered soi (alleys) which allow locating everything easily. Perpendicularly to them are four streets parallel to the river, from which only the two nearest to the river run along the whole twenty soi. Maybe this unexpected feature was designed as a counterweight to the apparent wilderness of the area; it is clear that the exuberant greenery by the riverbank and the area surrounding the village has plans to conquer it.

Most of the town’s houses are constructed with teak- wood in the Thai traditional way. Along the town, there are four wats, more similar in style to Lao ones than to typical Thai temples, the best one is Wat Tha Khok by Soi 20.

The best place for tasting local delicacies is the night market, which closes here at 7pm, almost together with the morning one. The Morning Market is in a big, well-lit and clean structure, which offers pleasant opportunities for local breakfasts.

The best surprise in town was the Tonkhong Guesthouse on the very center of the riverfront road (Chaykhong Rd. 299/3, by Soi 10). The wooden house has a terrace overlooking the river, from where drinking an afternoon coffee is a delight. Rooms are rented for 100B and I was delighted to find that their last guest arrived nine days before my visit. Phaithun and his wife, the owners, are friendly and an incredible source of information about the area.

If arriving in October the preparations to the Naga Festival or the festival itself can be seen from the terrace as a prelude to Nong Khai’s bigger version.

Upstream twenty kilometers, the Mekong River goes into Laos because of a nineteenth century agreement between the Thais and the French. Nowadays, the border with Laos continues from there along the Huang River.

A boat trip from Chiang Khan to the Huang River takes three hours and costs 250B (three persons as a minimum - or 750B for renting the boat, regardless the amount of passengers).

Downstream the Mekong is navigable only until Kaeng Khut Ku (or Kang Kud Ku, half way to Pak Chom), due to a stretch of rapids, in a two hours trip for 200B. Traveling farthest to the south requires bigger and more expensive options.

Pak Chom and Nong Khai are the next main towns along the Thai Mekong.

The central part of this journey is the most densely populated, maybe due to the influence of the main crossing point between Thailand and Laos: the Friendship Bridge next to Nong Khai; hence it offers several possibilities for stopovers.

If traveling with plenty of time, I recommend staying overnight in each one of the main towns along the way, but if reality presses hard, reaching Nong Khai from Chiang Khan in one day is possible.
A simple compromise can be reached by doing all the way in one day, but stopping in the main towns along the way; the tiny villages permit quick explorations of their emerald wonders.

If you decide to give up, there are buses from Chiang Khan to Khorat between 06:00 and 15:00, every hour (and vice versa as well) for 171B; to Bangkok there is a regular bus in the morning, 08:00, for 355B, and a VIP one at 18:30, 560B; returning to Loei is possible using the same trucks you arrived with.

Continuing ahead from Chiang Khan along the Mekong, Pak Chom is the next significant town. It is forty-one kilometers eastwards; a truck there costs 20B, the way takes one hour and crosses an incredibly green area; the road’s surroundings reminds of a rainforest.

Pak Chom

Pak Chom is a one-road village, as most of this area, but it is more developed than the others with some brick buildings alongside the more abundant teak-wood ones. Its distinction from its neighbors does not end there since there is a solid cement bus terminal at the western side of the town; silent shophouses surround it.

Next to it, there is a small and muddy market; inside it, I counted eight active stalls:

1) A fruits one.
2) A cold drinks one.
3) A chickens and cookies one.
4) A vegetables, fish and frogs one. The fat frogs were alive and jumping within a big bowl covered with a fishing net.
5) Two vegetables, sauces and eggs stalls.
6) A meat, eggs, garlic and pickles stall.
7) An ambulant stall with several products parked in the center of the action.

Near and perpendicular to them was a lane of deserted stalls, maybe patiently waiting for the next market day. As always, a visit to the market tells much about the locals and their way of living. Here they were friendly enough to begin basic conversations in English.

A very basic guesthouse exists, surprisingly answering to the name Pak Chom Guesthouse, but unless having arrived at the village very late, I do not recommend it.

Reaching Nong Khai

Nong Khai is 159km eastwards; a bus there costs 57B and takes four hours, departing in the late afternoon would result in arriving after dark. There are seven buses during the day; their departure times can be found at the terminal, however this area is not the most punctual in Thailand and schedules should be taken with a bit of salt and pepper.

Once within the bus, the next step is deciding where to descend; in order of apparition, the main options are Sang Khom, Srichiangmai, Tha Bo and Nong Khai.

Sang Khom is some sixty kilometers east of Pak Chom, is very similar to the former and has one basic guesthouse, the Bouy Guesthouse that offers some limited river activities on the Mekong. Little after leaving it eastwards, the rainforest ends, giving way to cultivated fields; hence to enjoy the wild-look of the Mekong I recommend spending some time at last in one of the former towns.

Srichiangmai is worth a visit due to its promenade and the good views it offers of Vientiane, the Laotian capital across the Mekong River. It has also a good night market by the promenade but the accommodation options are extremely limited. A detailed description of the town appears in my journal about Nong Khai.

Tha Bo is midway between the two and is a pleasant town that is too close to the area’s main city to offer an attractive tourism infrastructure. Yet, it has a Seven Eleven branch, while Srichiangmai lacks one. If you want to avoid sleeping in Nong Khai and need to buy something more than basic, then Tha Bo is the best choice. Frequent and inexpensive regular buses connect the three towns so that the decision is neither crucial nor irreversible.

Nong Khai signals the middle of this journey; from there the journey along the Thai Mekong enters its wildest, greenest part.

The next stop along the Thai Mekong in this journey is the town of Beung Kan; the 136km separating it from Nong Khai do not allow continuing the trip on the same day, but the town is worth a longer visit.

The Way from Nong Khai to Beung Kan

The way from Nong Khai to Beung Kan does not follow closely the Mekong riverside and most of the time the river is not visible, nevertheless the Laotian mountains across it are an appropriate substitute.

Several buses connect both towns; the way longs three hours. If not planning to stay overnight, a bus departing before noon is essential. Bus 224 leaves from platform 12 in Nong Khai's terminus, the ticket costs 50B. The departure times are: 06:40, 07:25, 08:00, 08:35, 09:10, 09:50, 10:30, 11:10, 11:50, 12:30, 13:10, 13:50, 14:30, 15:10, 16:00 and 17:00. The last two ones do not leave enough time for checking out the guesthouses in daylight.

If departing early enough it is recommended splitting the way and stopping on the villages along the way. The frequent buses along this line allow thus thoroughly exploring the area within one day.

The Clock

Beung Khan has not a proper terminal; the bus stops by the entrance, next to the clock square. The planned spaces for the digital and analog clocks in the tower were empty at the time of my visit, emphasizing the meaningless role of time along the Mekong riverside.

The Promenade

The town's main attraction is not far away from the bus stop; the promenade is one of the most attractive along the Mekong River and is characterized by small gardens along it, their flowers adding color to the otherwise emerald green area.

At night, the area is transformed into a lively night market, with many food stalls serving tasty Isaan dishes.

The Guesthouses

The Mekong Guesthouse is the only one on the promenade itself, but it charges a startling 250B for a simple fan room. Other guesthouses - at least three - are along the road connecting the market with the terminal. They are not very well advertised and thus can be easily missed; single rooms with fan, an attached bathroom with hot water and a television set cost at them 150B.

The Morning Market

The big morning market doubles as morning and night market and has a definite Isaan flavor. The usual breakfast consists of two eggs cracked into a bowl with hot water, to which soy sauce is added; however, many locals opt for betel nuts, which are piled in nearby shaky stalls. Next to the market is the only Seven Eleven branch in town and one of the few stores in this part of Isaan offering non-local products and toiletries.

The Last Leg

For those deciding this trip was enough, returning to Nong Khai is possible using the same bus 224, which departs from the bus stop here at roughly the same times as its counterparts in Nong Khai.

However, the only option for the intrepid travelers is heading south along the Mekong River to Nakhon Panhom; there are hourly buses leaving from the clock tower, the first at 9:00 and the last at 17:00, the ticket costs 70B and the three hours way is 175km long.

East and southwards of Beung Kan awaits the last leg of this trip along the Thai Mekong, the road to Khong Chiam.

Nakhon Phanom has a beautiful riverside location and extraordinary views of the Laotian mountains across the river. They are not very tall, but their broken, cliff-like shape and their deep green color make them an interesting view from the promenade; apparently, they are the source for the town’s name that means City of Mountains.

As in Mukdahan, crossing from here to Laos, to the town of Khammouan or Tha Khaek, is possible with the help of a ferry. However, if arriving without a visa, there is need to pay for an expensive and short term visa on arrival.

At the northern side of the promenade is the Indochina Market, which offers an interesting variety of products from the neighboring countries. The nearby Indochina Restaurant has a terrace on its second floor overlooking the Mekong and is a pleasant place for spending an afternoon watching the foggy mountains in the background while sipping a Laotian coffee. The night market is placed midway between the promenade and the bus terminal, which is two kilometers to the west. Several guesthouses occupy the surroundings of the Indochina Market and finding a suitable one is a quick and easy task.

Frequent buses leave from here to That Phanom (21B), in the way between Nakhon Phanom and Mukdahan, along the Mekong River. If traveling by bus, leave it at That Phanom’s main bus stop, by the sharp curve of the main axial road. The town does not have a bus terminal yet, thus look around well so that you will be able later to find the departure spot.

Wat Phra That Phanom is a few blocks away from the terminal along the main road, at the western end of a short and wide avenue connecting it with the river. That Phanom is an important pilgrimage centre for Thais and it hosts downscaled monuments of some Vientiane’s originals.

After the destruction of the old stuppa at Wat Phra That Phanom in 1975, the new one was built as a fifty-seven meters high replica of the Pha That Luang Stuppa in Vientiane. Its base is much smaller than the original, there are no walls surrounding it and instead of being gold coated, it has a complex golden ornament over a white plaster coat, but the similarity is obvious. The temples around it are always full with pilgrims and monks and make an interesting sight.

In front of it, at the other side of the avenue and a block before the river, there is a miniature replica of the Patuxai Victory Monument in Vientiane. This one is much smaller and has funny metal stairs steps stuck inside the plaster; it makes a nice frame for the picture of the Wat Phra That Phanom that you would probably take from there.

All the area was pleasantly designed with many open spaces and grass surrounded ponds. If arriving during a market-day, Monday or Thursday, then by the river, there is a big concentration of Thai and Lao merchants offering many local products for sale, it is worth visiting especially if not planning crossing the river.

Enriching the whole experience of the area is possible by staying overnight in nearby Sakon Nakhon, which occupies an inland position between these two cities and has better facilities. Further details are in my Dinosaurs in the Mall journal. A VIP bus from Nakhon Panom to Sakon Nakhon costs 50B and the way longs roughly an hour.

Regular buses from That Phanom to Mukdahan cost 21B and the way takes one hour; direct air-con buses from Nakhon Phanom to Mukdahan cost 72B and long roughly the double. Mukdahan is the best riverside choice for a prolonged stay; detailed information is in my journal Indochina’s Gate.

South of Mukdahan are some of the most beautiful spots along the Thai Mekong, but unfortunately, this area is not well covered by buses or travel agencies: to travel along road 2148 a rented vehicle is needed.

Road 2148 is a relatively new one and runs along the Mekong riverside towards Khong Chiam. There, the Mun River meets the mighty Mekong after having crossed much of Isaan.

Since the Thai culture was born along rivers, they feel doubly comfortable here, and the locals took advantage of the situation by placing boat restaurants along the Mun banks. The restaurants specialize in traditional delicacies, which are served in classical dishes, unlike in many of their counterparts elsewhere. A local companion to help with the formalities is recommended but not essential. For Thailand, the dishes are relatively expensive, but not exceedingly so. The boats provide a very suitable environment for enjoying the meal; they offer shade but do not have walls, letting the lazy river refreshing breeze in. The most recommended dishes are the Tom Yam Kung in a traditional heater and the giant river shrimps.

Such a meal is an appropriate way to celebrate the end of a journey along the Thai Mekong; south of here the river enters completely inside Laotian territory; traveling there is the topic for a different journal.