Nong Khai is 615 kilometers from Bangkok, only twenty four kilometers from Vientiane opposite, with Tha Dua on the other side. The road that runs along the river bank provides a clear view of the Laotian landscape, Thai Lao Friendship Bridge the first bridge across the Khong River, links Nong Khai with tha Na Laeng in Laos 20 Kilometers from Vientiane The bridge is 1.2 kilometers long.
Nong Khai – Laos
The completion of the Thai Lao Friendship Bridge. The new visa on arrival service making it easier for travellers to cross the border to visit Laos, has lead to an increase in commercial and tourist traffic through Nong Khai and the development of many new hotels to meet the needs of the many tourists. Making it a base for some very unique tours.
Nong Khai town runs some 4 kilometers along the bank of the Mekong River, more laid back than most border towns still retains much of its small town charm, moving along at its own pace, centered on three busy commercial streets, the many riverside stalls of the traders at the sprawling riverside Indochina Market add to the towns charm and Character at Tha Sadet pier, tourists who already have a visa to enter Loas can take the ferry to Tha Dua Loas.
Thai Lao Friendship Bridge
Prap Ho Monument commemorating the victory over the insurrection by Ho tribesmen, was built in 1886, and is situated in front of the town hall, enlarged and renovated in 1951, it contains the remains of officials who lost their lives in putting down the rebellion, Luang Pho Phra Sai, the major Buddha Image of the province, is enshrined at Wat Pho Chai within town limit, comparatively small, with only a spread of about one meter across the knees.
The in town Wats are worth exploring, the most unusual structure is about 5 kilometers east of town at Wat Khaek on the Nakhon Phanom Rd, here you will find recently cast concrete Buddhas, Hindu deities, and other fantastic figures of enormous proportions in an attractive garden setting, the eccentric Mr Luang Phu Boonlua Surirat, constructed this imaginative theme park as well as a similar sculpture garden just across the river near Vientiane, Laos.
Stroll among the unique statuary on the large grounds at Wat Khaek and feed the gluttonous carp in one of the many ponds, not to be missed the didactic (Wheel of Life) which tells, in visual allegory, the process of Buddhist Samsara, life’s path that is so barbed by struggle and attachment to the ephemeral.
