Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [430]
The TAT office in Nong Khai has information about several village homestay programs (most costing about 300B with meals) along the way, and if you ask, they’ll probably call to arrange your visit.
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Wat Phra That Bang Phuan
Boasting a beautiful and ancient Indian-style stupa, Wat Phra That Bang Phuan ( Map; daylight hr) is one of the region’s most sacred sites. It’s similar to the original chedi beneath the Phra Pathom Chedi in Nakhon Pathom, but while it’s presumed that this stupa dates back to the early centuries AD, no one really knows when either was built.
In 1559 King Jayachettha of Chanthaburi (not the present Chanthaburi in Thailand, but Wiang Chan, now known as Vientiane, in Laos) extended his capital across the Mekong and built a newer, taller Lao-style chedi over the original as a demonstration of faith (just as King Mongkut did in Nakhon Pathom). Rain caused the chedi to lean precariously and in 1970 it finally fell over. The Fine Arts Department restored it in 1976 and 1977. The current chedi stands 34.25m high on a 17.2-sq-metre base and has several unsurfaced chedi around it, giving the temple an ancient atmosphere.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
The temple is 11km from Nong Khai on Hwy 211. Catch a Sangkhom-bound bus and ask for Ban Bang Phuan (20B, 40 minutes).
Tha Bo
pop 16,000
Prosperous Tha Bo ( Map) is the most important market centre between Nong Khai and Loei, and the covered market, which spills out to the surrounding streets, is full of locally grown products. A large Vietnamese population lives here, and they’ve cornered the market on noodle production. You’ll see masses of sên lék (flat rice noodles) drying in the sun on the west side of town near the hospital. From about 5am to 10am you can watch people at the factories making the noodles, and then around 2pm they start the cutting – all by hand.
It used to be mostly spring-roll wrappers laid out on the bamboo racks, but noodles are a better export product and most people have made the switch. Ban Hua Sai, upriver just before Si Chiangmai and directly across the Mekong from Vientiane, has picked up the slack and is now the area’s spring roll–wrapper capital.
Tha Bo is mostly a day-trip destination, but there are some cheap guesthouses if you want to spend the night.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
The ‘yellow bus’ runs regularly between Nong Khai and Tha Bo (25B, one hour, every half-hour), taking the scenic riverside route. Pick it up in Nong Khai at the bus station or near the Hospital Food Court on Th Meechai. Alternatively, take a Sangkhom-bound bus (25B, 40 minutes).
Wat Hin Mak Peng
Set in a cool forest with lots of bamboo groves overlooking the Mekong, this vast forest temple ( Map; daylight hr) is very quiet and peaceful. And, since the riverside mountains begin to rise right around here, it’s very beautiful too. It was built above three giant boulders that form a cliff rising out of the river. From this point, a Lao forest temple can be seen directly across the river and fisherfolk occasionally drift by on house rafts.
Its tú·dong monks have taken ascetic vows in addition to the standard 227 precepts, eating only once a day and wearing robes sewn by hand from torn pieces of cloth. Several monuments honour Luang Pu Thet, the wát’s deeply revered founding abbot, including a glistening chedi housing his few earthly possessions.
The current abbot requests that visitors dress politely: no shorts or sleeveless tops. Those who don’t observe the code may be turned away.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
The temple is midway between Si Chiangmai and Sangkhom. Sangkhom-bound buses from Nong Khai (50B, 2¼ hours) pass the wát, and then it’s a longish walk.
Sangkhom
Seductively sleepy, the little town of Sangkhom