Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [424]
Two Thai-wide organisations, Open Mind Projects ( Click here) and Travel to Teach ( Click here), are based in Nong Khai and have lots of opportunities here.
Festivals & Events
During Songkran ( Click here) the priceless image of Luang Pu Phra Sai, a Lan Xang–era Buddha, is paraded around town.
Like many other cities in the northeast, Nong Khai has a Rocket Festival (Bun Bâng Fai), which begins on Visakha Puja day (Buddha’s birth and enlightenment day) in late May/early June, but it doesn’t come close to competing with Yasothon’s ( Click here) version.
At the end of Buddhist Lent (Okk Paan Saa) in late October/early November, there’s a large Rowing Festival featuring longboat races on the Mekong. It corresponds with the October full moon, which is when naga fireballs (see the boxed text, Click here) can be seen.
One particularly fun event is Nong Kai’s version of the Chinese Dragon Festival, held over 10 days in late October and early November, with dragon dancing, acrobatics, Chinese opera and lots of firecrackers. It’s quite possibly the world’s loudest festival.
The Anou Savari Festival on 5 March marks the end of the Haw rebellions and boasts the city’s biggest street fair.
Sleeping
BUDGET
Catering to the steady flow of backpackers heading across the border, Nong Khai’s budget offerings are some of the best in the region. In fact, the pricier rooms at many of these guesthouses are some of the best midrange rooms available.
Mut Mee Garden Guesthouse (0 4246 0717; www.mutmee.com; off Th Kaew Worawut; dm 100B, r 140-750B; ) Occupying a sleepy stretch of the Mekong, Nong Khai’s budget old-timer has a garden so relaxing it’s intoxicating, and most nights it’s packed with travellers. A huge variety of rooms are clustered around a thatched-roof restaurant where the owner, Julian, holds court with his grip of local legend and his passion for all things Isan. Because nobody will ever be required to vacate their room (people often stay longer than planned), only a few reservations are taken per day. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the alleyway leading to Mut Mee has developed into a self-contained travellers’ village with yoga instruction and a bookshop at hand.
Rimkhong Guesthouse (0 4246 0625; 815/1-4 Th Rimkhong; s/d 140/200B) Sparse rooms, some in a shaky wooden house, with shared bathrooms and plenty of hush are standard at this unassuming outfit. A friendly old dog pads around the leafy courtyard and sets the sluggish pace, while the owners provide the warm welcome.
Sawasdee Guesthouse (0 4241 2502; 402 Th Meechai; s 140B, d 200-450B; ) If you could judge a hotel by its cover, this charismatic guesthouse in an old Franco-Chinese shophouse would come up trumps. The tidy rooms (the fan options share bathrooms) lack the old-school veneer of the exterior and lobby, but at least you’ll sleep well in the knowledge that you’re bedded down in a little piece of living history. There’s free in-room wi-fi.
E-San Guesthouse (08 6242 1860; 538 Th Khun Muang; r 150-450B; ) Just off the river in a small, beautifully restored wooden house with a long verandah, this is a very peaceful and atmospheric place to stay. The air-con rooms (the only ones with private bathrooms) are in a separate modern building.
Ruan Thai Guesthouse (0 4241 2519; 1126/2 Th Rimkhong; r 200-400B, f 1000B; ) Once little more than a small private home, this pleasant spot has grown with the boom time, boasting a good variety of good-quality rooms from simple shared-bathroom basics in the back to a family room in a little wooden cottage. Factor in the tangle of flower-filled garden greenery and the free wi-fi, and it’s a winner.
Jumemalee Guesthouse (08 5010 2540; 419/1 Th Khun Muang; r 250B) Also in an old wooden house, Jumemalee is less lovely (and subsequently more authentically Thai) than its neighbour the E-San. Rooms here have private bathrooms. The family runs the business to honour the wishes of their parents that the house never be sold. Check in at the modern house