A Little Trip to Nong Khai

[zanemay]

Nong Khai

 

One of the members asked me to pass on my impressions of Nong Khai. Based on the fact that it was rated the seventh best place in the world to retire to by a major publication, he said he was thinking of retiring there.

 

This rating is big publicity and I?m sure the powers that be in Nong Khai and LOS are delighted. I don?t remember the article very well except that it rated places on the quality of medical care, environment, crime rate and the cost of living. Yes, I saw a big hospital in the middle of town and Nong Khai was quite clean. The general ambiance was pleasant enough. There are enough farangs about so that one does not get a second glance, which was a relief after the time I spent in Kalasin.

 

Aside from this - and maybe somebody to help me out here - did I miss something? I didn?t see anything to do in Nong Khai as far a entertainment or farang culture. If one is going to retire with a family that occupies you every day, or if one is going to retire to a rocking chair, fine. I did do the few things recommended in Lonely Planet. There wasn?t much.

 

This quote from LP about a similar town: ?If you were choosing a NE Capital to live in, Nakon Phanom might make a good candidate since the streets are well laid out, there are many green areas, the riverside is scenic and there?s not much traffic. The only drawback is there?s almost nothing to do!?

 

One thing I will say, I felt safe Nong Khai at night. This was after five days in Kalasin, where I decidedly did not feel safe at night; where every two blocks or so we would come upon a groups of guys sitting on their parked motorbikes, drunk and drinking more. Young, poor, drunk and very mobile. A lot of times they shouted as my little girlfriend and I motored past. And these were aggressive comments, not the friendly ?hello?s.? When I took walks at night in Nong Khai, people were friendly. And even though is was just a couple of days before Songkran I only saw a few of groups of little kids throwing water. Hey, that might be a reason enough to move there on it?s own!

 

I almost always travel alone and usually fall into adventures and have a lot of fun. In this case I was with a new girlfriend and the region was in the midst of a hot spell. Too hot to go outside, a comfortable hotel room, a heady romance. I didn?t get out much.

 

Some general information: Nong Khai is a small town, my old Lonely Planet lists a population of 27,000. It is strung along the Mekong River for a couple of miles and is perhaps a half mile wide. There are a few farang-owned guest houses in town by the river that look like they cater more to backpackers and there is a low-key, very clean, good-sized hotel a few blocks from the river called Pantawee Hotel (www.HotelPantawee.com) I stayed there and recommend it highly. 500 - 600 baht/day. As far as Nong Khai is concerned, unless I find out something new, I wouldn?t go back. There are other places in Issan I would like to see during some of their special events.

 

I researched the transportation by asking NP members how they would go. The overnight train was pretty popular. I ended up taking a bus up because I got off with the girlfriend in Khon Khen which is a few hours south. I was planning to take the train back. If I was given correct info at the hotel, there are only trains running to BKK. 6 PM and 8 PM approximately. This left me with a problem - check out time. What was I going to do between noon and 6 PM? If I just got on a bus I?d be most of the way back to BKK by 6 PM. I took the bus.

 

The buses don?t leave Nong Khai as frequently as I?d hoped, and just going to the bus station wasn?t a good idea. I got there at 9:30AM. The last bus had left at 8:40 and the next bus was at 11:30. Ugh!

 

I don?t mind the bus at all as long as I can get a seat to myself and I could. There weren?t too many stops, but it was a long ride. I got into Mo Chit bus terminal in BKK at 9:30PM. And then I had problems.

 

First, the bus didn?t go into the terminal proper. It unloaded across the street a couple of blocks away in a bus parking area. I don?t know if this is because it was Songkran holiday and the terminal was jammed. It would have taken awhile longer to get in. The parking area had no information, but someone told me buses to Pattaya departed from the main terminal. This was a long walk with a heavy suitcase and it involved a very hazardous crossing of the six-lane road running past the station. Terrible!

 

Just as I was about to lug my bag into the door of the main station, a guy came up and asked me where I was going. (Look out!!) I told him Pattaya. He told me the buses had stopped running for the day. I don't believe anything these guys tell me, so I went in to look for the ticket window. He took me to it. It was closed. He said 1,800 baht to take me by taxi. ?800 baht Pattaya to BKK; 1,800 BKK to Pattaya,? he chuckled. You know Mr. Fight-for-Your-Baht isn?t going for that. ?What about Ekamai?? (the bus station on Sukhumvit.) ?Moat laeow.? (Finished for the day.) How much you give me? 1,500 okay?? With him trailing me I headed for the info booth. ?Okay. I take you 1,200!? In the info booth they told me buses from Ekamai ran until 11:00PM but then gave a phone number and said they didn?t really have that info.? I went to find a phone, with the taxi guy still dogging me. I didn?t have change. He gave me two baht. I called. Last bus at 11 PM. I headed for the exit. ?1,000!?

 

So I had a big problem. I was Buddha-only-knows how far from Ekamai and how much a taxi would cost. It was 10 PM and if you know BKK traffic, it sometimes takes an hour to go six blocks. But if you get into such a situation and you might be thinking of taking guys like this taxi driver up on an offer, I would suggest you think again. He was waiting for me. A guy who was going to Pattaya but was too late. I was pretty damned sure that if I agreed to 1,000 baht, we would not have gotten far before there would be a problem and I would be asked for more money. I could also envision worse things happening.

 

I marched out the door and when it was obvious that I was going to take a taxi to Ekamai, he didn?t offer me the ride. He disappeared.

 

I made it to Ekamai for about 130 baht on the meter of a perfect taxi fellow, with a pristine cab, fine manners and his license posted on the dash. He didn?t offer to take me to Pattaya, but I asked him how much it would be. 1,500 baht. We made it to Ekamai all right and I arrived in Pattaya around 1 AM.

[Steve]

Good report Zane May, nice to know the little things when I plan my trip up country.

[Guest]

A mate that knows Nong Khai well tells me that "The best little whorehouse in Isaan" shut down a few years ago.

 

For future use, if you're stuck getting to Pattaya head to the airport, especially if you're alredy out in Mor Chit, and it will cost you 1,000 baht for a taxi to Pattaya.

[ultras67]

RickFarang is the man to ask about Nong Khai - he stays in a village outside of NK a good part of the year.

[bangkokbutcher]

hi zanemay,

from what you have said on the subject of nong khai, you are not a big fan. Thats how I viewed the place on the 1st trip - but there is more to the place then meets the eye.

OK, OK so it aint no pattaya, but there are some extremely good eateries and pubs in town.

Sounds like you found the most popular hotel, both for price and location. The Phantawee is the best there, apart from the money munching Grand Royal Mekhong hotel (with it's own swimming pool - apparantly a rare sight in issarn) at 1500-2000 per night.

Days can be spent doing local sight seeing (and there are some lovely sights to take in) waterfall & parks etc, or visa-running accross the friendship bridge for a night in Vientienne (Laos).

Admittedly the night life is a little tame in comparison to bkk & pty, but it is still possible to keep yourself going for a night or 5. Starting off with a dinner at the Danish Bakers (owned by a Dane whose name is Gai - nice guy) or Nobbys (German). Either of these places (among a few others) are normally fairly full of expats at night who can either offer advice on where to go after hours for some fun (they normally invite themselves along as well - just incase!?!).

There are a couple of discos and karaokes that stay open pretty late and have a bit of local talent available.

 

And as for Issarns most famous whorehouse (which I think was in Thabo - my wifes village about 20-30km up stream from nong khai) yes it was closed down for some reason - not sure why though...

 

But all in all, a fairly plesant town, but I think in time it will change to accomodate the number of farangs moving there to settle down. But I've yet to manage being able to stay there for more than a week.