CHIANG KHAN

This single statement tells you a lot Chiang Khan: NOBODY LOCKS THEIR BICYCLES!!! Yes, it is a very safe place. Many foreigners don't even know this place exists, but it is popular to local Thai tourists (and Koreans, I was told). The main draw of Chiang Khan is the kilometer-long walking street and the promenade along the scenic Mekong River. The street is lined-up with hotels, boutiques, vendors, restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops. The promenade is particularly charming to stroll about in time for the sunset.

Before, there was no direct travel route. You either:

1. take a bus to Udon Thani, another bus to Loei, and another bus to Chiang Khan
2. or take the slow, dilapidated, and uncomfortable green bus along the winding Mekong route, get off at Pak Chom, take another bus towards Loei but get off at Ban That (village), and then take another bus to Chiang Khan. No wonder people don't go to Chiang Khan from Nong Khai!

As of June 18, 2020 (the trip I took), when things were beginning to normalize from the COVID pandemic, there seems to be a few changes.

1. the 3 trips/day by the green bus (7:30am, 11:00am and 3:00pm) have been reduced to 1 trip at 12 noon
2. BEST, the bus goes all the way to Chiang Khan. You don't have to get off at Pak Chom.
3. Trip Details from the Nong Khai bus terminal
   departure time: 12 noon (only one trip)
   duration: 5 hours
   fare: B250
   stops:
   Nong Khai (left 12 noon)
   Tha Bo (arrived 12:55 pm)
   Si Chiang Mai (arrived 1:25 pm)
   Sangkhom (arrived 2:35 pm)
   Pak Chom (arrived 4:05 pm)
   Chiang Khan (arrived 5:05 pm)

1. Walking Steet - animated street line with shops, hotels, restos, bars, cafe and buskers
2. Promenade - planked walkway extending for kilometers with the Mekong River on one side and fancy hotels and restaurants on the other side
3. Phu Thok view point - 7.5 kilometers from the town center towards the mountain, it reaches 480 meters and offers stunning view of the sunrise and mountain tops piercing through the low-lying clouds
4. Kaeng Khut Khu - 5.5kms downstream on the Mekong from town center, the manicured park has life-like statues of masked characters celebrated during their Phi Ta Khon Ghost Festival. It also has a 2-storie statue of the Jueng Khueng Dangdaeng, a Laos giant hunter who, as legend would have it, became part of the rocks sprinkled on the Mekong between Laos and Thailand

1. arrive early - in case there is a snag (visa snag, documentation snag, transport ticket snag, etc.), you will have ample time to troubleshoot the problem if you arrive early (to the airport, to the bus terminal, etc.)
2. put detailed itinerary on the Calendar apps of your smart-phone according to timelines - this is where you do all your thinking and planning. Once written down, you don't have to think anymore while you are on the journey...you just follow the steps. This frees your mind for something else that might happen while you are already en route
3. avoiding scams - as a general rule, I ignore the touts or anyone I don't know who call out to me. The calling comes in many forms - "Hi! Where are you from?", "Excuse me! Excuse me!", "Where are you going?". I don't look them in the eye and I remain non-verbal with them. If you reply to them, you just gave them an 'in' to hound you. In order not to look rude, I smile and wave the 'not interested' hand to them, without looking at them.
4. power bank - hand-carry your power bank. Do not check it in. You can be called in when you are already inside the plane to go all the way to the loading dock so you can personally remove the power bank...and chances are, you'll have to surrender it to them. And you might delay the plane departure!