Local attractions

Please note this is just a draft - more to follow.


Nong Khai is in no hurry to get itself on the tourist map, which is why we like it. The real attraction is relaxation. But there are a few things worth a visit.


For an events calendar, click here.


Wats

  1. •Wat Pho Chai (map link) off Prajak road is famous for its big old Buddha. The head is solid gold, set with rubies. The land beside this wat is where many festivals are held.

  2. •Plenty of other wats all over town. The giant open-air “golden” Buddha on the Rim Khong, grinning at Laos, is worth a glance.


Sala Keo Kuu aka Wat Khaek - map link

Known to many as “the Buddha park”. Nong Khai’s most famous all-year attraction. Place is nuts. Go there to see ancient-looking sculptures of men wearing modern clothes cheerily beating their wives. And look at the pickled (though they deny it) corpse of its founder in the big building, along with various morbid relics from his deathbed.


Don’t forget to feed the fish at the back of the park. The furthest pond has the biggest fish.




There are pictures of Sala Keo Kuu in the picture gallery.


Beach - map link

Not kidding! If you’re in Nong Khai during the low-water season, go to the beach practically underneath the Friendship Bridge. Hundreds of improv covered eateries and bars, plus music, watersports, etc. It’s really good.


Shops

Plenty of shops dotted around, especially on Meechai and Prajak roads, and around Thasadej market. A lot of the stuff for sale comes from Laos, China, or the former eastern bloc, in addition to local wares.

  1. •Tesco Lotus (map link). Best access from Nong Khai via the slip road off Panang Chonprathan Road. If you’re on a moped drive right past the store through to the second car park, where there’s a bike park. Pick up a receipt from the guard and return it to him on the way out. Exit onto the Udon road on the far side of the car park.

  2. Tesco Lotus has the usual vast department store, plus a lot of satellite businesses including banks, a bookshop, CD/DVD shops, and loads of phone stores. Nong Khai’s three-screen cinema is here.

  3. •Isaan handicrafts store. Details to follow. It gets in the guidebooks but no one I know goes there. Go to the markets.

  4. •Imported foods (map link). On the road leading up to the immigration point at the Friendship Bridge, on the right as you’re heading towards the bridge. Lots of quality imported western food, if you’re willing to pay for it.


Markets

  1. •Thasadej (map link). On the Rimkhong. Open every day. Mostly shops; lots of Lao stuff. Also known as Ta Sadet and other transliterations.

  2. •Sunday market (map link). On the Vientiane road. Only operates Sunday pm.

  3. •Central market (map link). The one by the bus station on Prajak. A food market. Opens before dawn.

  4. •Food market at the east end of Meechai (map link). Cheap. Also has some clothes stalls, and a 7-11 opposite.

  5. •Chayapon covered market (map link), off the west end of Meechai. Big. Sells everything.

  6. •In my opinion the best food market is the one off the road heading south from the Friendship bridge, about 4km out of town.


Cinema

In Tesco Lotus (map link). Three screens. If you want to watch a western movie, check whether it is dubbed or subtitled.


Festivals and events

See here.

For more info please email info[at]thebridgenongkhai.com