I am beginning to have a feel for Isaan and its definitely not what I expected. The general write up on the internet went along the line of the poorest region of Thailand but also where the most beautiful girls are from which goes to the popular tourist spots like Pattaya, Bangkok, Krabi, Phuket to be bar girls and go go dancers painted a very negative image of this parts of Thailand.
But few days in, I find that it is far from the truth and more like a very tranquil place where the sights are not magnificent nor is it in any extreme that it would attract major tourism. I saw a slogan or a saying somewhere and it said “simple living” which seams to resonate with the atmosphere in Isaan. Not poor living but simple living ... such a fine difference.
Chiang Khan was unlike any other town in Thailand that I have seen. Mostly on traditional wooden stacked houses and rustic like an old film. This place was the perfect blend of a forgotten town yet still well known by the locals to have enough local tourism visiting the place every night walking the famous walking street in Chiang Khan.
The feeling is surreal walking down the streets seeing all these rustic old wooden houses which is now turned into souvenir shops, trinkets and boutique hotels of the highest class. The front of the houses faces the popular walking street while the back of the houses faces the calm flowing Mekong river which is so serene and peaceful that this one lane town seam to lure me to stay longer a few more days.
Finding a place to stay was surprisingly stressful in Chiang Khan. I knew from websites that it was at least 500 baht and they even have a pod hostel which was quite costly at 700 baht so I decided to risk it and ride to Chiang Khan without a booking on the first day of the Lunar New Year and hope to find some hidden guesthouse not listed on the internet for cheap.
Stopping at guesthouse after guesthouse inquiring, most were full, the guesthouse although abundant were small and most barely have 4 rooms to go before being full house. It was not looking good but I had back up plan of 500 baht anyway so no harm trying for a few hours riding around, stopping, asking, riding again.
Most guesthouse asked for 1200 baht ... of course these could stay two people and one guesthouse even lowered to 800 baht when he knew I was a solo traveler. By chance I had to ask around and one small signboard in Thai but had the price was 250 baht and the shop was closed. I did not even know if the signboard was for a guesthouse and the shop looked like a grocery stall and only by chance I decided to hang around and wait hoping it was the one.
The unmarked guesthouse, not even on the map and no name or signboard to it was the lucky find. 250 baht for a room with shared bathroom. It was a simple room, clean and that was all I could hope for. One night in Chiang Khan on the first day of Lunar New Year just watching the Mekong river during the day and the flow of local tourism people shopping for souvenirs along the walking street.
Travelled on: Feb 2019
But few days in, I find that it is far from the truth and more like a very tranquil place where the sights are not magnificent nor is it in any extreme that it would attract major tourism. I saw a slogan or a saying somewhere and it said “simple living” which seams to resonate with the atmosphere in Isaan. Not poor living but simple living ... such a fine difference.
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| Mekong River Weed Farm |
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| Locals Paragliding at Wat Pha Tak Suea - The Mekong River (Across the River is Laos) |
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| The Mighty Mekong River - Left (Thailand) - Right - Laos |
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| Local Camping Ground along the Mekong River |
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| Nong Pla Buek |
The feeling is surreal walking down the streets seeing all these rustic old wooden houses which is now turned into souvenir shops, trinkets and boutique hotels of the highest class. The front of the houses faces the popular walking street while the back of the houses faces the calm flowing Mekong river which is so serene and peaceful that this one lane town seam to lure me to stay longer a few more days.
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| Chiang Khan Rustic Walking Street |
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| Chiang Khan Rustic Walking Street at night |
Stopping at guesthouse after guesthouse inquiring, most were full, the guesthouse although abundant were small and most barely have 4 rooms to go before being full house. It was not looking good but I had back up plan of 500 baht anyway so no harm trying for a few hours riding around, stopping, asking, riding again.
Most guesthouse asked for 1200 baht ... of course these could stay two people and one guesthouse even lowered to 800 baht when he knew I was a solo traveler. By chance I had to ask around and one small signboard in Thai but had the price was 250 baht and the shop was closed. I did not even know if the signboard was for a guesthouse and the shop looked like a grocery stall and only by chance I decided to hang around and wait hoping it was the one.
The unmarked guesthouse, not even on the map and no name or signboard to it was the lucky find. 250 baht for a room with shared bathroom. It was a simple room, clean and that was all I could hope for. One night in Chiang Khan on the first day of Lunar New Year just watching the Mekong river during the day and the flow of local tourism people shopping for souvenirs along the walking street.
Travelled on: Feb 2019
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