Nong Khai

Hi Bloggers,

Here are some shots of my recent trip to Nong Khai. Nong Khai's as charming and sleepy a town as you could hope to find. It lies on the mighty Mekong River which flows unrelentingly on down to Vietnam. The Mekong is one of the widest rivers in Asia, and here is no exception. On the other side you can see Laos. In fact, you can even go across for a day trip via the Friendship Bridge. Mind you, your pocket'll be about $20 lighter for this privilege.

Apart from the laid back feel of the market and central area, the main attraction is Wat Sala Kaew Kou. Within the temple compound is the now famous Sculpture Park, with a huge array of all kinds of statue. Most depict some aspect of the Buddha or Buddhism, but there are also some strange animals, such as dogs and snakes.

Udon Thani

Robinson's - the heart of modern Udon Thani
Last week I made a return trip to Udon Thani, in the far north of Isaan. Actually it's my favourite town up there, as it's got a really sleepy laid back feel to it, in strong contrast to hustle and bustle of Khon Kaen, for example. Yet at the same time, it has a modern downtown area centred around Robinson's. None of the other Isaan towns seem as developed. So it's a great mix of traditional and modern. It's also quite open-planned and easily navigable on a motorbike. Finally, there's a significant farang population, resulting in plenty of appropriate restaurants and bars.

There are tropical plants everywhere














The kind of fare on offer!

A farang area