Mukdahan is the perfect base for exploring Isaan, especially for visiting the Mekong River area; south from the city are some of the most beautiful spots along the way. Unfortunately this area is not well covered by buses or travel agencies: to travel along road…Read More

Mukdahan is the perfect base for exploring Isaan, especially for visiting the Mekong River area; south from the city are some of the most beautiful spots along the way. Unfortunately this area is not well covered by buses or travel agencies: to travel along road 2148 you will need a good Thai friend with a private car. Renting a car in one of Isaan main cities and doing it independently is also an option, but a less fun one. Thais are very friendly; don’t be shy and you would be surprised from the results. Road 2148 is a relatively new one, running along the riverside towards Khong Chiam. The greenery along the way is captivating and among it there are two stops worth mentioning.

The first is the boat restaurants in the town of Khong Chiam. There the Mun River meets the mighty Mekong after having crossed much of Isaan. The Thai culture being cradled along rivers, they feel doubly comfortable here, and the locals took advantage of the situation by placing a few restaurant boats 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 you with the formalities is recommended but not essential. The food, especially the ones based on aquatic ingredients, is always fresh and tasty. The boats provide a very suitable environment to enjoy your meal; they offer shade but do not have walls, letting the lazy river breeze to refresh you. For Thailand, the dishes are relatively expensive but not exceedingly so. Try the Tom Yam Kung in a traditional heater or the giant river shrimps.

The second point of special interest is further south and is called Chong Mek, which is the only land border-cross between Thailand and Laos, and is located a bit north from the triple border with Cambodia. The place is peculiar for being more accessible from Laos than from Thailand. This is quite a strong statement: in Thailand there is a twelve-lanes highway connecting any two villages and VIP buses using them, while Laos hardly has tiny roads connecting its major cities and decrepit old buses carrying enough bananas on their roofs to bend them in. Yet, in Laos one bus from Pakse, a bridge over the Mekong River and a forty kilometres way do the trick, while in Thailand the way to Chong Mek is a very secondary one and most Thai people look at this area as the local equivalent to Russian Siberia. Low green hills, a classical green-roofed Laotian structure hosting the immigration authorities and a quite large market in the Laotian side with a small "duty free", all of them catering to the Thai visitors, summarize the place.
If you are not crossing any deeper, you do not need to deal with the Laotian authorities, just drop a five Bahts coin (12 cents) at the Thai immigration stall by the border, pick up the receipt and you can cross legally, no stamp will be added to your passport. A basic restaurant serves Laotian coffee and other local delicacies and around it is a huge market. Many Thais come here specifically to buy birds, and I was surprised to see owls and other endangered species for sale there. Another unusual product for sale is the Betel Nut; its users, usually old women, are easily recognizable since the chewing of the nut causes a reaction that turns the teeth and gums into a deep red color and from time to time they spit "blood". The use is very uncommon these days and seeing it in a market in the quantities seen in Chong Mek is rare and added some spice to the visit.

You can do easily this trip in one long day and finish it either by returning to Mukdahan or by continuing to Ubon – the Emerald Triangle’s main city. The last term is relatively new and denotes the triple border between Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Why Emerald? The first glimpse of the lush green area would provide the answer.
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