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Why would one visit Nakhon Phanom, a small provincial town 740 kilometres northeast of Bangkok? The most obvious reason is the border, a natural meandering line created by the Mekong River that separates Thailand from one of its neighbours, Laos. But, besides the ferry, there are other reasons for visiting this provincial town.
Practically all of them are linked to this fascinating river, the longest and least travelled in Southeast Asia. For most of the year the mighty Mekong River flows substantially faster than the pace of life in Nakhon Phanom. Yet just once a year, it plays a pivotal role in the town’s annual peak season, which lasts a dramatic six days in the first part of October. On the 15th day of the 11th lunar month, as the full moon rises over the Mekong currents, the town shakes off its sleepy image and parties. The river becomes the scene for a spectacular flotilla of gigantic rafts made of bamboo scaffolding, each illuminated with as many as 15,000 paraffin lamps, and aptly named rua fai, literally ‘fire boats’. Villagers from a dozen districts create intricate illuminated motifs for the boats that depict the royal family or HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s rural projects.
During the preceding days spectacular long-boat races pit teams from all over the Northeast in a knockout series to claim a royal trophy. For just one week the town’s 1,000-odd rooms are packed with enthusiastic visitors, who flock to the riverbanks to join in the festivities.
During the rest of the year, the town’s promenade reverts to its normal leisurely self, where visitors can admire the craggy limestone mountains of Laos as they reflect the last amber rays of sunset. Travellers may enjoy the view from park benches placed strategically along the landscaped promenade which follows the winding river bank through the centre of town.
The mountain vistas in Laos probably inspired the town’s Sanskrit-Khmer name ‘City of Hills’, while its architecture, culture, heritage and lifestyle reflect a variety of influences — Lao, Vietnamese and even a hint of French colonial in some of the town’s finer buildings.
At one of the roadside restaurants close to the town’s promenade, a breakfast can adopt a Vietnamese quality not evident in the plainly named kai kata (‘egg in the pan’) description. The egg, still simmering in a well-worn aluminium pan, is served with a hot bread roll stuffed with minced pork and herbs. Service is fast since there are long queues for this simple meal found only in towns where the Vietnamese settled. At approximately 50 baht, egg and bread roll breakfast comes with coffee, a heavy layer of condensed milk lurking at its base. Here is a brew strong enough to hold your teaspoon upright.
The day continues exploring the unusual influence of Vietnamese immigrants and refugees who fled their home country during the fight for independence. Many of them eventually returned home after the defeat of the French and later US military forces.
Some left behind a symbol of their gratitude to Nakhon Phanom residents in the form of a clock tower, built in the 1960s, that stands on the promenade road almost facing the town’s Customs House and border checkpoint. Ironically, to some visitors, the design is reminiscent of clock towers found in many French villages.
A similar ambiguity is evident just three kilometres north of the clock where the twin towers of St Anna Catholic Church peep over a row of tall trees facing the Mekong River. Is it French or Vietnamese or neither, you might ask. Guide books tell us the sombre stone work was shipped all the way from Saigon by faithful Vietnamese Christians who had settled in Nakhon Phanom. Set in a landscaped garden with statues of revered monks and saints, the church’s sombre presence contrasts dramatically with the town’s gilded temples and their distinctive Lao-style four-sided chedis.
Set back from the riverside, a grid of neatly laid out roads form the backbone of this provincial town, where again there is a hint of French architecture in some of the government buildings. The former residence of the governor is one example. A two-storey mansion, it was used by their majesties King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit during their visit to the town in 1995. Another is the bright yellow building, opened in 1915 as the provincial hall. It is now the Chalerm Prakiat Library Under the Patronage of Her Majesty the Queen, and was listed as a heritage building by the Fine Arts Department in 1976.
While not specifically French in design, Chom Khong Park housed the province’s prison before it was transformed into a sports and recreational park. There are still traces of the prison’s wall and one remaining prison dormitory with a few exhibits to deter would-be delinquents.
All of these sights plus several temples in the town are presented in a do-it-yourself tour brochure published by the local Tourism Authority of Thailand office that recommends we hop on a rented bicycle and tour the town at leisure. The longest stretch by bicycle from the riverside promenade is just five kilometres to Ban Na Chok, a rice and fruit growing area on the outskirts of town.
Four tall coconut trees towering over a modest wooden gate indicate you have reached the house where Vietnam’s president Ho Chi Minh resided for several years from 1923. The four healthy coconut trees were planted by Vietnam’s first president, while the tiny wooden house he lived fell victim to the ravages of time and termites. Rebuilt in 2001, it is now a small museum run by the grand children of the Vietnamese immigrant who gave Ho Chi Minh shelter from the colonial foes ruling Vietnam. His homeland was just 200 kilometres from Nakhom Phanom as the crow flies, but it required a much longer journey through hardship and tragedy before Ho Chi Minh’s mission to gain full independence. His mission was echoed in words jotted on a scrap of paper while living in the Nakhon Phanom hamlet — “All people on earth are born free; all have the right to be happy and free.”
Of the Vietnamese community that settled at Ban Na Chok, less than ten families can still claim that heritage, although traditions live on through the Friendship Village project opened in 2004 by the prime ministers of Thailand and Vietnam.
Just a short walk from Ho Chi Minh’s house, a modern former college building houses an exhibition partly sponsored by the Vietnamese government. Exhibits and photographs provide insights into his life from simple birthplace to the still modest surroundings of his official residence in Hanoi.
Both residents and visitors dine early in Nakhon Phanom. They are drawn to the riverside to view limestone mountains on the horizon and the fast flowing river so heavy with sediment that it is almost a rusty red in the light of the sunset. From there the bell of the pla meuk (squid) vendor beckons. It is a pre dinner snack, leathery in texture, but surprisingly appetising when washed down with a glass of ice cold ale.
Along the promenade, small restaurants, often dimly lit, serve a variety of river fish dishes, spicy curries and barbecued chicken northeastern style. Families roll out a large mat, on the promenade concrete slabs, set out their sticky rice, spicy salad and fried chicken and enjoy a picnic in the pale light of dusk.
Then there are just a few upmarket restaurants, most converted residences standing in spacious gardens, further north along the promenade road. At one white painted villa called Chom Chon, with its own resident folk band, a gourmet gives the town an experiment in fusion cooking. Here the dining experience includes a selection of river fish, barbecued and suitably spiced, and even a few choice Italian pasta dishes.
The band strikes up, chilled wine is served and a feast begins for less than 1,000 baht, all in all considered the town’s most expensive meal.
To the south of the clock tower, two star-rated hotels stand on the riverbank, using their terraces as venues for northeast style buffets for 299 to 350 baht a person — more fruit and fresh salad than fancy pastries and ice cream.
During festivals village handicrafts are everywhere, packed on street-side stalls under the popular banner of the One Tambon, One Product (OTOP) brand. The province’s fruity wines, sweet rice whisky by the jug and coconut based snacks are available in abundance.
But once the festivities are over visitors need to travel 48 kilometres south along the riverside road to Renu Nakhon to buy genuine village handicrafts, including handwoven mudmee (ikat) silk. At the heart of the village stands the revered temple Wat Phra That Renu Nakhon a smaller version of Wat Phra That Nakhon, located another five kilometres south of the village.
Villagers mainly from the Phu Thai tribe congregate around the distinctive four-sided chedi to sell handicrafts. On certain days of the week the temple square is a colourful scene of music and dance. An OTOP centre displays all the popular products from districts around the province, while the rows of shops display distinctive fabrics and mud mee silk woven locally.
PB Air flies to Nakhon Phanom or you can travel on one of THAI’s four daily services to Khon Kaen and hire a car for the 300 kilometre drive (about three hours and 30 minutes). The journey takes you on quiet provincial roads over national park mountains to lush green irrigated plains and finally to Nakhon Phanom standing on the banks of the Mekong River. You may want to cross the river to Laos, or perhaps call time out on your travels to enjoy the view from the promenade.
If you're planning to attend the 2007 Illuminated Boat Procession, which will be held during October 21-27, please make your travel arrangements and reserve hotel accommodation far in advance.
Contact information:
TAT Northeastern Office Region 4
Tel: +66 (0) 4251 3490-1
Fax: +66 (0) 4251 3492
E-mail: tatphnom@tat.or.th
All rights reserved. Text Copyright Tourism Authority of Thailand News Room
Images Copyright Don Ross
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