Chiangkhan.
Chiangkhan.
Been out and about this last week and discovered this very interesting place, Chiangkhan. It is located about 50kms on from Loei. It is an almost traditional old style town with many houses made from wood on narrow streets .It is starting to become a popular tourist (Asian) destination so there is plentiful accommodation ranging from home stays to more comfortable guest house/ hotel establishments . Prices from, 300-2,000bht .It nestles right alongside the river Mekhong, with a walkway alongside and most accommodation and restaurants have a river view .There is a lot of history here so I have made a separate topic of it .Meanwhile a few photos to give a taster .
As you can see some houses are untouched , others beautifully restored . Cycles to rent everywhere at 50 bht a day .
Ageing is a privilige denied to many .
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jackspratt
- udonmap.com
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- Joined: July 2, 2006, 5:29 pm
Chiangkhan.
Thanks Val - a couple of interesting posts on places off the beaten tracks. =D>
Chiangkhan.
We used to do getaways to there.Very nice lady ran the Chiangkahn Guesthouse,good food and quiet balcony looking down on the river.We would rent bicycles and ride around.Just East of town there is a large resort with a pool.It is next to the tourist bus spot when all the local things for sale,gigantic parking lot with a lot of stall markets.The river curves acutely below the parking lot and there is quite a large area with an inlet/outlet on the curve that pools up quietly outside the current where the locals swim.we had a lot of fun playing with them in that area.Nice big sandbar to relax on ,but no shade,so umbrellas are a recommendation!
The only thing negative,for me,was the last trip a couple of years ago,the gal running the above Guest house was taking a hiatus from cooking.The local food, we tried in Town,was very bland and tasteless to me,but they were packed with locals ,so it is a matter of what you like,I guess!
The only thing negative,for me,was the last trip a couple of years ago,the gal running the above Guest house was taking a hiatus from cooking.The local food, we tried in Town,was very bland and tasteless to me,but they were packed with locals ,so it is a matter of what you like,I guess!
Chiangkhan.
I guess you mean Gang Khut Koo Stan . Its an area that has a little souvenir market and is especially noted for the style of the coconut flesh cooked with herbs they make . We went and had barbecued river fish at the riverside stalls there . Delicious.They also rent the long tail boats by the hour , 800bht, but we didn't go as it was a very hot day .nkstan wrote:Just East of town there is a large resort with a pool.It is next to the tourist bus spot when all the local things for sale,gigantic parking lot with a lot of stall markets.The river curves acutely below the parking lot and there is quite a large area with an inlet/outlet on the curve that pools up quietly outside the current where the locals swim.we had a lot of fun playing with them in that area.Nice big sandbar to relax on ,but no shade,so umbrellas are a recommendation!
Ageing is a privilige denied to many .
Chiangkhan.
Looks like a lovely little place TB. Taking off for a couple days next week so i think ill check it out. Thanks
Chiangkhan.
We went to Chiangkhan in Oct 2008. We stayed at the ChiangKhan Hill Resort....nothing special as far as the room goes, but in an ideal location along the river....with mountains in the background, a bend in the river, pitch black across the river at night (nice for fireflies if they're active), a restaurant/bar. I brought my bike along and went out for a late afternoon and early morning ride. Had a great bowl of noodle soup and expresso for breakfast while watching the monks do their morning rounds. A nice break from Udon.
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- the walls appear to be woven bamboo with mud packed in
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- Just 5 minutes later
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- Sunrise along the Mekong
Chiangkhan.
A friend & I visited this town on the Mekong about 2 months ago on a cycling trip and found it hardly worth the time and money. It sort of reminded us of a mini "Disney" operation. Lots of renovated building all made to look new with lots of overpriced trinkets for sale. The accomodations ALONGSIDE THE RIVER were way overpriced as were the restaurants for what was offerred. Most of the accomodations are nothing more than a bare room with a mosquito net with an outside shared toilet. Room with a fan was extra extra extra as was an in room toilet, air con, tv, window screens etc (all in short supply). Prices for these places ranged from 800B & up. We only saw 2 small hotels located on the main street in town and both were full. We were told by management that rooms with typical hotel amenities would cost upwardss of 1,200B per night. We finally located a place 1 street back from the river which had air con, in-room toilet & shower, tv etc etc for 500B. The Thais we spoke with seemed to enjoy the town as it took them back to the old days of outdoor plumbing and a much simpler time. A typical Thai "resort" in the countryside offers much more for much less. Taking it one step further and hotels in BKK can be found with much more to offer for much less. For comparison purposes though consider that we stayed at a very nice hotel in Sri Chiang Mai right alongside the river with full amenities to include breakfast for 600B.
I believe the resort Parrot described is located several kms east of the town. My friend & I stopped there for breakfast as we were heading to Sri Chiang Mi. Beautiful scenery indeed which I recorded on my camera which was then subsequently stolen while my back was turned.
I believe the resort Parrot described is located several kms east of the town. My friend & I stopped there for breakfast as we were heading to Sri Chiang Mi. Beautiful scenery indeed which I recorded on my camera which was then subsequently stolen while my back was turned.
Chiangkhan.
Guess you don't rate it then Mike ? I know your problem . No bagels there .fdimike wrote:A friend & I visited this town on the Mekong about 2 months ago on a cycling trip and found it hardly worth the time and money. It sort of reminded us of a mini "Disney" operation. Lots of renovated building all made to look new with lots of overpriced trinkets for sale. The accomodations ALONGSIDE THE RIVER were way overpriced as were the restaurants for what was offerred. Most of the accomodations are nothing more than a bare room with a mosquito net with an outside shared toilet. Room with a fan was extra extra extra as was an in room toilet, air con, tv, window screens etc (all in short supply). Prices for these places ranged from 800B & up. We only saw 2 small hotels located on the main street in town and both were full. We were told by management that rooms with typical hotel amenities would cost upwardss of 1,200B per night. We finally located a place 1 street back from the river which had air con, in-room toilet & shower, tv etc etc for 500B. The Thais we spoke with seemed to enjoy the town as it took them back to the old days of outdoor plumbing and a much simpler time. A typical Thai "resort" in the countryside offers much more for much less. Taking it one step further and hotels in BKK can be found with much more to offer for much less. For comparison purposes though consider that we stayed at a very nice hotel in Sri Chiang Mai right alongside the river with full amenities to include breakfast for 600B.
I believe the resort Parrot described is located several kms east of the town. My friend & I stopped there for breakfast as we were heading to Sri Chiang Mi. Beautiful scenery indeed which I recorded on my camera which was then subsequently stolen while my back was turned.
Ageing is a privilige denied to many .
Chiangkhan.
Truebrit
There are many nice places to visit in Thailand all very reasonably priced. We found this place to be way overpriced for what was there much in the same way Phuket has become. The same river sights were available elswhere at nowhere near the cost ie Si Chiang Mai. It seemed to us the locals were just trying to exploit the Thai tourists who seem to feel the quaint village was worth the visit and way overpriced accomodations and food. A local Thai friend who also visited this village felt pretty much the same. To top it all NO bagels!!!
There are many nice places to visit in Thailand all very reasonably priced. We found this place to be way overpriced for what was there much in the same way Phuket has become. The same river sights were available elswhere at nowhere near the cost ie Si Chiang Mai. It seemed to us the locals were just trying to exploit the Thai tourists who seem to feel the quaint village was worth the visit and way overpriced accomodations and food. A local Thai friend who also visited this village felt pretty much the same. To top it all NO bagels!!!
Chiangkhan.
Surprised that your main concern was the price Mike. There are many places in the world , not just Thailand, that are expensive by comparison to others, but I still like to visit them , at least once, anyway. Monte Carlo comes to mind, went there had a great time, wouldn't have missed it for anything, but so damn expensive, wouldn't go back.I did point out that accommodation was available for all tastes in Chiangkhan from 300_2,000bht. Yes you can get a better room for your money in say , Udon, but I was not there, I was in Chiangkhan .I do realise however that normally us Brits have a different sense of history to our American friends .fdimike wrote:Truebrit
There are many nice places to visit in Thailand all very reasonably priced. We found this place to be way overpriced for what was there much in the same way Phuket has become. The same river sights were available elswhere at nowhere near the cost ie Si Chiang Mai. It seemed to us the locals were just trying to exploit the Thai tourists who seem to feel the quaint village was worth the visit and way overpriced accomodations and food. A local Thai friend who also visited this village felt pretty much the same. To top it all NO bagels!!!
Ageing is a privilige denied to many .
Chiangkhan.
truebrit wrote: "I do realise however that normally us Brits have a different sense of history to our American friends."
mai khao jai
mai khao jai
Chiangkhan.
Hi Shado. The fact you don't understand verifies my point but as explaining will take this thread way off topic I am going to start, possibly a debate on the differences on an appropriate forum .Shado wrote:truebrit wrote: "I do realise however that normally us Brits have a different sense of history to our American friends."
mai khao jai
Ageing is a privilige denied to many .
Chiangkhan.
Ron
You missed my point completely. I was not concerned about the price. What concerned me was what you were getting for your money. We checked out a number of different places along the main street as well as in several side streets. The vast majority of accomodations were home stay with NO amenities what so ever unless you consider the cracks in the walls and floor to be attractive. There were very few places offerring anything resembling the price being asked. As far as we were concerned what was being sold to the Thai tourists was a dose of nostalgia. This was the way grandma & grandpa lived long ago. I was not really interested in that aspect of Thai culture so saw no value in laying out that kind of money. Additionally, there was nothing special about the town itself to include the restaurants. One could have seen the same types of houses and shops in most any Mekong River town for much less money. The Thai friend I mentioned who visited the town with several freinds also felt the same way. I think the best way to end this is by simply saying to each his own.
I repeat that the one exception is the resort described by Parrot but that is several kms outside the town.
You missed my point completely. I was not concerned about the price. What concerned me was what you were getting for your money. We checked out a number of different places along the main street as well as in several side streets. The vast majority of accomodations were home stay with NO amenities what so ever unless you consider the cracks in the walls and floor to be attractive. There were very few places offerring anything resembling the price being asked. As far as we were concerned what was being sold to the Thai tourists was a dose of nostalgia. This was the way grandma & grandpa lived long ago. I was not really interested in that aspect of Thai culture so saw no value in laying out that kind of money. Additionally, there was nothing special about the town itself to include the restaurants. One could have seen the same types of houses and shops in most any Mekong River town for much less money. The Thai friend I mentioned who visited the town with several freinds also felt the same way. I think the best way to end this is by simply saying to each his own.
I repeat that the one exception is the resort described by Parrot but that is several kms outside the town.
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WhoUrDaddy
- udonmap.com
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- Joined: March 24, 2011, 11:37 am
Chiangkhan.
There is one waterfront, northern part of town, one of the last guesthouse, LoogMai, rather nice, has webpage I believe. One large room and couple smaller. One en-suite, others shared, and very clean and comfortable no matter which one use. Nice sitting area and gracious host. Stayed at one, forget the name, will have to check and see if I have information someplace, but after nightfall, the place filled up with flying bugs, and so annoying we left w/half refund, and have badmouthed them on a couple forums. Costing them much more than their scamming profit on me.
Like the town, food options are a bit limited, though on the way to Nong Khai, a stream that dumps into the Mekong, has vendors along it with many BBQ food options. Very comfortable for munching and suds if you enjoy such.
Like the town, food options are a bit limited, though on the way to Nong Khai, a stream that dumps into the Mekong, has vendors along it with many BBQ food options. Very comfortable for munching and suds if you enjoy such.
Chiangkhan.
truebrit,
Thank you for your response pointing out your perspective on the differences between the sense history, on the British & American History thread. However I still don't understand your original post. I will quote you again; "Yes you can get a better room for your money in say , Udon, but I was not there, I was in Chiangkhan .I do realise however that normally us Brits have a different sense of history to our American friends."
What does your visit to Chiangkhan have to do with a different sense of history? I'm just trying to understand the meaning of your statement.
Thank you for your response pointing out your perspective on the differences between the sense history, on the British & American History thread. However I still don't understand your original post. I will quote you again; "Yes you can get a better room for your money in say , Udon, but I was not there, I was in Chiangkhan .I do realise however that normally us Brits have a different sense of history to our American friends."
What does your visit to Chiangkhan have to do with a different sense of history? I'm just trying to understand the meaning of your statement.
Chiangkhan.
I wouldn't worry about it Shado. Everyone else , including the poster to whom I replied seemed to understand perfectly well and I am not about to give lessons in English punctuation on here . I'll give you a clue though . Look for the full stop .Shado wrote:truebrit,
What does your visit to Chiangkhan have to do with a different sense of history? I'm just trying to understand the meaning of your statement.
Ageing is a privilige denied to many .
Chiangkhan.
Can I add just a bit more to this please. The guy I was cycling with was a retired teacher from the UK. We were both in full agreement rgarding value for the money. Every place we looked at did not have a toilet in the room, nor any other amenity other than a bed and a fan. Of the ones we looked at most had mosquito nets because they did not have window screens and the openings between the wall wooden slats and the floor planks were large enough to negate any advantage offerred by a window screen. Rooms like this were running from 500B on up. The place we finally found (1 street up from the river) met all our needs to include cleaniness, a bathroom in the room and air con & fan along with the reasonable price of 500B. This guesthouse was run by a teacher and her retired brother.
Quite frankly I don't understand Truebrits post either re: the history issue.
Quite frankly I don't understand Truebrits post either re: the history issue.
Chiangkhan.
Realizing everyone has a different meter when it comes to 'fun factor', after reading all these posts, I thought back to what made our trip memorable.
The sunrise/sunset over the Mekong was the highlight. Having my bike along make it easy to pick out good viewing spots. Another lasting memory....albeit strange....we were sitting along the river late at night, drinking some Regency and yakking....out of the corner of my eye, I saw what seemed to be a laser-like red flickering pass by about 20 feet away. Maybe I saw it, maybe I imagined it......but I was too stunned to say anything....rather, I hoped to see it again so I'd have time to point it out to others. It didn't happen again.
I also stopped by one of the quilt shops along the river......a lady was 'smoothing' the cotton filler with a paddle. I stopped by to yak.....a younger lady was also there. I thought she was the daughter. It turned out she was a university student visiting from Bangkok. She came for a night, but after meeting the quilt family, she stayed another 2 nights and got some on-the-job training as well. The lady on the bench was the original owner of the shop....the mom.....now watching from the sidelines as her children took over the business.
I always enjoy pitstops like this......next time you use a quilt, you'll appreciate the work that went into it (much like stopping by the rubber plantations and watching the process involved in tapping, mixing, drying, smoking the rubber....I doubt many people know what's involved in that rubber sole on their Nikes)
The sunrise/sunset over the Mekong was the highlight. Having my bike along make it easy to pick out good viewing spots. Another lasting memory....albeit strange....we were sitting along the river late at night, drinking some Regency and yakking....out of the corner of my eye, I saw what seemed to be a laser-like red flickering pass by about 20 feet away. Maybe I saw it, maybe I imagined it......but I was too stunned to say anything....rather, I hoped to see it again so I'd have time to point it out to others. It didn't happen again.
I also stopped by one of the quilt shops along the river......a lady was 'smoothing' the cotton filler with a paddle. I stopped by to yak.....a younger lady was also there. I thought she was the daughter. It turned out she was a university student visiting from Bangkok. She came for a night, but after meeting the quilt family, she stayed another 2 nights and got some on-the-job training as well. The lady on the bench was the original owner of the shop....the mom.....now watching from the sidelines as her children took over the business.
I always enjoy pitstops like this......next time you use a quilt, you'll appreciate the work that went into it (much like stopping by the rubber plantations and watching the process involved in tapping, mixing, drying, smoking the rubber....I doubt many people know what's involved in that rubber sole on their Nikes)
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- Sunset
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- The owner's mother
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- University student from Bangkok
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- The current owner of the quilt shop
Chiangkhan.
You seem to have changed your mind re your last paragraph Mike . So I feel obliged to reply .You say you were not concerned about the price but your original post was over 90% about price and less than 10% about the attractions or lack of . So naturally I pointed out from my view that I went there to see the historic aspect of the town and although I agree the room rates were significantly higher than other places in Thailand, as I was only staying for two nights anyway, the difference between paying 20 or 30 dollars didn't enter into the equation or spoil my enjoyment of seeing the town.fdimike wrote:Ron
You missed my point completely. I was not concerned about the price. I think the best way to end this is by simply saying to each his own. .
I attached importance to the experience whereas you seemed more concerned about the room rates .This I attributed to a difference in priorities, possibly because of the cultural awareness of our different nationalities .
I originally posted as I thought there would be other members interested in seeing outside of the normal big city attractions and wouldn't niggle about paying a little over the norm for their accommodation for a couple of nights .I could understand your concern if it was another Farang rip off, but it wasn't, the Thais paid the same rate, seemingly without any problem .Perhaps in future I should keep details of my excursions private if it is going to lead to these sort of discussions. You forgot to mention the bike rental was over a dollar 70c a day, but of course you took your own .
Ageing is a privilige denied to many .
Chiangkhan.
Well Val,I for one certainly hope you keep posting pictures and accounts of your adventures.Parrot has some nice photos and interesting tidbits also.All you have to do is look at the views vs the replies and you could deduce that quite a few people are enjoying the threads but maybe don't comment.
I enjoy technology, yet I don't comment much anymore on forums.I just don't think forums are as friendly as days gone by.Still,lots of good people about that are interested in helping one another.
I think the most popular threads have always been travel and food threads.They're my favorites,by far.
Life is Good.
I enjoy technology, yet I don't comment much anymore on forums.I just don't think forums are as friendly as days gone by.Still,lots of good people about that are interested in helping one another.
I think the most popular threads have always been travel and food threads.They're my favorites,by far.
Life is Good.