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I got a day bus to Nong Khai, and then a tuk tuk to the Mut Mee guest house. Once again I took the Lonely Planet at face value, but on this occasion they (and therefore I) got it right. I found out later that this is where the writer of the Thailand guide stays when he is in Nong Khai.

A snake with a frog at the Mut Mee guest house

The Mut Mee is situated on the bank of the Mekong, it has a number of cheap and basic rooms, and a big garden with chairs and tables, where you could eat and drink or just chat. The toilets and showers were very basic, and this was probably the coldest shower I used on the entire trip. In the neighbourhood was a book shop and internet cafe, and a meditation centre, though this appeared to be out of use.

The Mut Mee was the first place I'd stayed in in Thailand that operated on trust - nothing had to be paid for up front. Instead, if I wanted something from the fridge, beer or water, I just took it and wrote it down in the book that was assigned to my room.

Dusk over the Mekong at Nong Khai

The atmosphere was infectious. The owners, an Englishman and his Thai wife were very friendly, their day manager, Theo, saw it as part of his job to chat to people and make sure that they were happy, and if there were people by themselves he'd go out of his way to make sure that they felt included. Mostly this was unnecessary though, because everyone I met there was friendly and inclusive anyway. Most of the people staying there were on their way to or from Laos. The Friendship Bridge is the main land crossing into Laos, the other side being close to the capital Vientiane. I made the most of the opportunity to ask people where they had been or were going, trying to get a feel for it. Not everyone was on this route - I met one lady who was an anthropologist doing research in Vientiane, and in Nong Khai for a holiday.

Sunset over the Mekong

Sunset again

The first evening I was there was one of the guest's (Anna) birthday so Theo took it upon himself to borrow the Mut Mee pick up truck and take anyone who was interested off into the middle of nowhere, stopping first for beer in the 7-11. About 10 of us went in total, a mixture of ages and nationalities. We set up a fire, taking it in turns to head off into the trees and find dead wood to feed it. Someone had a CD player, so we listened to this while we sat and talked and drank and smoke.

At last my holiday was meeting and exceeding my hopes!

A Buddha in an unfinished wat

The next day I had a very big head, so it took a long while to get going. As there were people around the garden to talk to this didn't seem to matter - I was quite happy just chilling. Eventually I wandered around Nong Khai, taking in the market and walking by the river, just enjoying being there. On my short trip in 1999 I'd thought that Northern Thailand was better than the south, and this trip was confirming it. In the evening I went on a sunset cruise along the Mekong.

Kids playing on a sand bank

Cruise wasn't entirely an accurate description, as we sailed one way for half an hour and then sailed back again, but it was a pleasant enough way to spend the early evening - and it was sunset.

The Mut Mee wasn't very conducive to early starts. Whatever time of day I struggled out of bed there were friendly people around who were happy to chat, and one cup of coffee quickly became two or more and then the morning was over. However I fancied going for a cycle ride, so I hired a bike from over the road and headed to the Salakaewkoo sculpture park. Or at least I tried to - it took several attempts to follow the directions before I got it right. The park itself was strange and interesting. I hope these photographs give a flavour of it. The diagram on the left shows the theme and layout of the park.

Salakaewkoo (Sculpture park)

Ooh Falang!

Once I'd had enough of the sculpture park I carried on down the back road, and found some out of the way villages, where they obviously weren't used to seeing farangs and where some of the kids were happy to pose for the camera (left). However there was nothing much else on this road, so eventually I turned around.

I went back into town and then back out again in the direction of the friendship bridge and went for a swim in the pool of a big hotel. I'd been warned before that the staff here were really unfriendly. In fact they weren't - it was just that everyone else in Nong Khai is so friendly that these guys seemed a bit standoffish.

I'd hoped to get a massage in Nong Khai as well, but Theo told me he didn't know of anywhere that did them, and when I tried a place that seemed to be advertising massages, I got the impression that they were only offering them with 'extras', though that may be due to a fairly effective language barrier.

Links to other Thailand pages  Ko Samui  Ratchasima  The North

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Last modified on 10th December 2008 2:07 PM EST

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