Nakon Phanom, Mukdahan or Savanhaket?

[samran]

Will be up there for work in the next month or so and looking at a map, I'll have the choice of spending the night in one of those places.

 

Popping over to Laos for an evening to sip on some beer loas on the mekong sounds like a good idea in theory, but have read that Savahnaket is pretty dusty and there isn't much to do.

 

What would you gents recommend? Not a party person or anything, just simply looking for some atmosphere.

[Isaan Alan]

Personally I really like Mukdahan on the Mekong (try the night street food market and the IndoChina market)  however the Beer Lao is half the price in Savan and there are 4 kinds. Not much to do in Savan apart from the night outdoor street food square surrounded by restaurants, and sunset on the Mekong. The first time in Savan I was looking for tourist attractions and was disappointed, the second time I expected little and had a great time eating, walking, sunsetting and drinking.

Nakhon Phanom has a great cycleway and is on the Mekong too,

[SunsetT]

Nakhon Phanom has mountain views unlike Muk. and Sav. The bicycle ride (rent one) up to the Thai/Laos bridge is really spectacular. I also really prefer Thakhek opposite for sunsets chilling with beer Laos' at bars and stalls beside the Mekong and 3 good restaurants selling Western food too. Nothing much to see and do beyond the promenade unless u have time for a 1 to 4 day eco tour into the mountains organised by the local govt. tourist office, or do the famous 4 day mbike loop with a rented mbike. I visited Vientiane recently and, with ever increasing traffic, the air quality (never good) was atrocious compared with 3 years ago. I would think that it must be going the same way in Sav. Thakhek is also growing but being the smallest must be the least worst option in this respect.

[samran]

1 hour ago, SunsetT said:

Nakhon Phanom has mountain views unlike Muk. and Sav. The bicycle ride (rent one) up to the Thai/Laos bridge is really spectacular. I also really prefer Thakhek opposite for sunsets chilling with beer Laos' at bars and stalls beside the Mekong and 3 good restaurants selling Western food too. Nothing much to see and do beyond the promenade unless u have time for a 1 to 4 day eco tour into the mountains organised by the local govt. tourist office, or do the famous 4 day mbike loop with a rented mbike. I visited Vientiane recently and, with ever increasing traffic, the air quality (never good) was atrocious compared with 3 years ago. I would think that it must be going the same way in Sav. Thakhek is also growing but being the smallest must be the least worst option in this respect.

Thanks - how easy is it to get across to Thakhek?

[SunsetT]

2 minutes ago, samran said:

Thanks - how easy is it to get across to Thakhek?

There is a Friendship bridge just like Mukdahan, and an hourly Thai-Laos bus service to Thakhek from NKP bus station or the bridge. The only downside is that Thakhek bus station is outside of town on the bypass, and tuktuks to the river area can be a rip off. I always take my bicycle on the bus which is sometimes free, sometime 100thb.

[samran]

1 minute ago, SunsetT said:

There is a Friendship bridge just like Mukdahan, and an hourly Thai-Laos bus service to Thakhek from NKP bus station or the bridge. The only downside is that Thakhek bus station is outside of town on the bypass, and tuktuks to the river area can be a rip off. I always take my bicycle on the bus which is sometimes free, sometime 100thb.

Looking at google maps, there seems to be a ferry. Is it still running?

[SunsetT]

32 minutes ago, samran said:

Looking at google maps, there seems to be a ferry. Is it still running?

Yes but only Thais and Laos can use it. Foreigners must use the bridge. A shame because I used to love having a beer Laos or 3 at sunset in Thakhek then get the last boat  back to NKP with all the colours reflected in the Mekong in the dying light.

[samran]

1 minute ago, SunsetT said:

Yes but only Thais and Laos can use it. Foreigners must use the bridge. A shame because I used to love having a beer Laos or 3 at sunset in Thakhek then get the last boat  back to NKP with all the colours reflected in the Mekong in the dying light.

great - thanks for letting me know!

[Aspaltso]

Nakhon Phanom in my view wins hands down. The cycling track is a very worthwhile thing to do there as the views are stunning. The night market is really neat in Nakhon Phanom, and plenty of places to sit for a beer. Thakhek on the other side of the bridge in Laos in my view is a much more charming town than Savannakhek.

[Matzzon]

No doubt, Nakhon Phanom. As you only sit alone in the night sipping on a beer, the whole area has atmosphere.

[malathione]

I'm biased. Nakhon Phanom is great. I liked it so much I moved here about a decade ago.

[Caldera]

Out of those three, I'd choose Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan a close second place. Personally, I wouldn't go to Laos for just one night, considering that you lose quite a bit of time with border formalities.

 

That Beer Lao is cheaper in Laos, as someone else wrote, is true. But if you need to buy a visa for Laos, you probably can't drink enough in one night to make up for it. ????

 

[Aussiepeter]

Spent a lot of time in all three and can only concur with the majority - NKP, then MKD and last/third Savvan, - but with this extra info. The OP says they will be in the area for work - I've no idea what the OP does but as I am retired and he/she isn't, the cost of a Lao visa is probably not a problem. Nor is the cost of beer. I don't know if the OP is single, or what, but I will say from happy experience that if you can speak both Lao and, some passable Vietnamese (and Thai) like I do, Savvan can be a very fun place after dark. It is just that the locals keep it to themselves - (I suspect that the Vietnamese $ run that town). I am sure you will enjoy wherever you chose to have a quiet beer. PS - Loved your TV name OP "malathione" - a popular brand of herbicide in Oz in the seventies !

[Kadilo]

10 hours ago, malathione said:

I'm biased. Nakhon Phanom is great. I liked it so much I moved here about a decade ago.

Lucky you. 
I visited a couple of years go for the first time and it is still my favourite place. Love the weekend market, enjoy the vibe and chilling by the river. Doing some great work extending the cycle paths. Be back soon to enjoy, can’t wait.