From Nong Khai To Nakhon Phanom Down The Mekong

[ron195400]

hi , i would like to go from nong khai to nakhonpahnom by boat any tips and pitfalls if any and look at going early july

regards

ron

[learnthaipodcast]

Sounds interesting, do they have comfortable boat tours up there?

[bananabender]

hi , i would like to go from nong khai to nakhonpahnom by boat any tips and pitfalls if any and look at going early july

regards

ron

hi ron,

Are you planning on taking a canoe /kayak? That would be fun.

I don't think the river is navigable by a large commercial vessel on this stretch due to sections of rocks/rapids.

I drove the section by road last year and its a pretty and interesting trip, but not a great choice of accomodation along the way.

[MISTERBONK]

I was in Nong Khai last month and spoke to several people who had boats about the possibility of cruises on the Mekhong. They listened intently especially when I pointed out the probable financial benefits to them, but whether they get their act together is another thing. Probably not.

The best available at present is a 1 hour sunset cruise from the Mut Mee guest house with booze on board. Better than nothing.

[Lickey]

My brother and mrs came over here last February, we went to Nong Khia and took a ride from the most eastern side of the market to the Friendship bridge and back, 1hr 40mins,800bht for 4 of us, on a twin hulled open boat, with a strimmer as propulsion, it looked like 20 people could get on this.

The Mekong waters are always muddy and on this particular stretch of the river there were lots of rubbish thrown down the banks both sides, they have built a nice new promenade along the market site, with chairs and grass ect, but no litter bins!!

July is getting near the middle of the rainy season, some high winds too, so i would imagine all this rubbish is washed down the banks and with the high winds whipping up waves perhaps the road trip would be a better option, stop off at viewing points/rest areas, they sometimes have cruise boats and if you are lucky, a B&B,

Good luck with your trip, Cheers Lickey.

[MrHerb]

I have often wondered about a boat trip like this myself, however after looking around in Nong Khai and searching the internet I have not found anything regarding trips down river of Nong Khai.

I have been on the night dinner cruise for a couple of hours out of Nong Khai but that seems to be about all there is. I still don't know if it's because the river is unnavigable or because of security concerns with Laos or just due to a lack of customers.

We have a water front house in Phon Phisai which is around 50k down river from Nong Khai. Whilst staying there I have seen a number of large commercial vessels ( > 40 foot) travelling along the river. However I've got no idea how much further they go or what their destination is. They definitely were not cruse boats but as I'm quite keen on the idea my wife suggested I enquire in Nong Khai which I intend to do on my next trip (mid July).

I have been told of some security concerns along the river in this area. A couple of years ago my father in law who is a high ranking police officer was very nervous about me and my daughter being on a 'beach' on the banks of the river near Phon Phisai. He told me that due to the river shifting every year it wasn't clear exactly where the border between Thailand and Laos was and there had been cases of people being taken by the Lao until a 'fine' or bribe had been paid for entering without a visa.

BTW there is/was a nice water front guest house on the river at Phon Phisa with a great pool which was built by a New Zealand friend of mine who has now sadly passed away. I'm not sure if his wife Ning has sold it yet but it's a lovely place to stay on the river. (Web site www.bigsnakeguesthouse.com not working at the moment so I've sent an email to Ning to find out what's happening)

Regards,

Herb.