Nong Khai is a border town deep in Isaan heartlands where the Mekong River runs by. The recently completed 'Friendship Bridge' to the west of Nong Khai results in plenty of border traffic and commerce here. It's considered the gateway to the Laos captial Vientiane.
Each year at Loh Kratong the area becomes very busy.

Nong Khai is a small town and the large provincial city and is considered in the heart of Isaan. There are a few things for the typical tourist to see but most are not in the city itself. A few expats make Nong Khai there home, having married and settled down with thai wives. The place is a popular visa run destination for the expats in Isaan.
The local language here is predominately Isaan (Laotion) although Thai is spoken too.

Mekong River

One of the cities selling points is the great river that runs alongside it and there are several vantage points to look out and see day to day things going on in Nong Khai.

 

The inhabitants of this city are a mix of Isaan, Loation and Thai.
Being a border town the tourism is mainly comprised of short stopovers by people traveling to and from Laos. The main thoroughfare is mainly populated by hardware stores, banks and gold shops.
A large, busy Indo-china market thrives in the city centre along the riverside. Visitors are catered for by a wide selection of hostelries from budget guesthouses to international hotels and thriving evening entertainment.

There are no known nightclubs or bars catering to the tourists, altough the usual bar/restaurant combinations are here and there.

An exiled mystic from Laos called Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat is responsible for some interesting work around the town. In the nearby park, for example, he sculped several mythological creatures, some over twenty feet tall.

Not far from the main picture showing the old town hall is the Garden of Sorrows. This is a place commemorating the grim Haw Wars in the late 19th century. Widows of the fallen soldiers from that war would go to the garden to grieve.

Nong Khai Facts

Founded: circa 1850 A.D

Population: 62,000 (Approx)

Size (Metropolitan): 2 Sq. Miles

Distance from Capital by Air: 321 miles

Distance from Capital by Road: 384 miles

Seasons and Weather.

Nong Khai is in the edge of Isaan, where Laos meets and Thailand begins. It is in the north-east of Thailand. The heat is a sharp contrast to the rain during the monsoon season. The temperature hits a peak in April. The wettest is normally September and the coldest is usually November.

Cool Season - October to February. Avg Temp - 24 C

Hot Season - March to May. Avg Temp - 31 C

Wet Season - June to September. Avg Temp - 28 C.