Thread: A weekender in issan

We decided to go check out a couple of places in issan last weekend, turned out to be a good little adventure, Kids Loved it anyway. Leaving vientiane at about 12.00 on friday we headed in the direction of udon thani and from there on through nong bua lamphu.



I had heard that Loei and chiang khan was worth a visit so it was decided to give the kids an early knock of from school and of we went



Not a hell of a lot to see between udon thani and nong bua lamphu, but the landscape changes from flat to a bit mountainous, a couple of big buddhas along the way and a place called erawan cave is nice



Somewhere near erawan cave, just starting to get a bit hilly, and the road turned to single lane



Single lanes a pain in the arse for me as the cars Lao and the steering is on the left hand which makes overtaking tricky unless you have a passenger telling yoiu when its safe

we took plenty of pictures and stayed in some really nice ( and good value ) resorts taking full advantage of low season prices. heres an issan map to give you an idea the way we went,



The first night was spent in Loei and the second in chiang khan we went back to vientiane following the river through a couple of small and unremarkable places, Sang khom was about the biggest Baan and its claim to fame was its the place where gravydave was raising woodpigs and head butting the piss taking youths if my memory serves me correctly


More pics a bit later

Rest stop

It didnt look like they had any plans to erect a statue of gravy,



More later

wheres the water scene from?

The erawan cave area makes a good rest stop but its a lot of walking to the cave itself, so i was told , i didnt go as it was getting way to close to ripping the scab of a can of Leo, and we still had about 40 klicks to go to get to Loei, my loss


Erawan means elephant, surprisingly enough.




Looking at Laos on the other side, Lots of haze around at this time of year from the farmers trying to burn the fields before songkran

Originally Posted by Yasojack

wheres the water scene from?

i took plenty of pictures of the river , that ones from along the road between chiang khan and nongkhai, At this time of year there really wasnt a lot of water in the river but in some places it was quite scenic especially at a place called khang khut ku, near chiang khan,



Same area , Locals fishing



Thais place called khang khut ku was extremely popular with thai tourists , i must of seen about 20 of those big double decker buses that get around thai highways, Thats where the resort we stayed at was to ,, more later

Great pics.

I love Isaan!

Heresa few pics of Loei, only stayed 1 night but had a great hotel 1200 baht and it was bloody hot so the kids ( and Me ) were stoked to jump in the pool, Loei seemms to be surrounded by a lake or maybe even a moat really looks nice at night and they have a few restaurants and a night market

Originally Posted by beerlaodrinker

stayed in some really nice ( and good value ) resorts

As much info about them as poss please. Me and the Midget are looking to escape for a few days some point soon.

The pool at the hotel





In the room



In the lift looking down







Mrs BLD can eat the spicy stuff but im a bit of a pussy when it comes to the chillies , after eating this i put 2 rolls of toilet paper in the fridge in anticipation for a nightmare morning ablution

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

As much info about them as poss please. Me and the Midget are looking to escape for a few days some point soon.

Certainly, we only spent a night in Loei but the town itself seems pleasant and a good drive ( or ride) a little bit further the small historic town of chiang khan is definately worth a look

Nicly done BLD, as per usual...

The Loei palace is bang smack central we got it for 1200 baht with brekky, but its probably cheaper on agoda,



It reminded me of the Charoen in udon except this one seems better maintained, similar style layout etc,

Map to the hotel





They had an old tram out the front where you could have a beer or coffee


Reception

Signpost outside the hotel




Downtown Loei


In the morning we had the hotel brekky, usual cold eggs and thimble sized cups of coffee or juice but edible and with 2 kids saves a lot of stuffing about trying to get everbody fed, Then on to chiang khan, again a single lane highway with a bit of work going on, on it, not to bad

We stayed at chiangkhan hill resort because it was the only one we could find with a pool, got a bigroom facing the swimming pool for 1800 baht with an extra folda bed for my oldest, that was walk in price maybe a bit cheaper on the internet, they have about 50 rooms of all styles and prices with a nice garden and restaurant and out the front is khang khut ku where you can eat local and buy souvenirs


Khang khut ku


The family cooling off




The Bungalow we stayed in




Inside the room

Had one of those nasty water heaters that are always trying to electrocute me



A couple of different style bungalows at the resort





Decent view of the river

Another resort we checked out looked to be new, but didnt have a pool. No pool = Grumpy kids.......Fuk that, im on holiday


ChiANGKHAN RIVER MOUNTAIN RESORT




There did appear to be plenty of guest houses along the walking street that looked quite nice, Didnt see to many farangs getting about , chiang khan seems to be more geared for the locals

Walking street along the river at night





A clandestine pic of a good looking girl who contributed significantly to a hangover next day by keeping the bevvys coming



The Booze bus volkswagon has caught on here as well

Nice pics man. Out of respect for Dirty Dog, please provide closeups of the shitter. :-)

Were the beds soft for humans or like concrete slabs for Thais?

good thread beer lao keep it coming

marmite i like thai beds, must of gone native, i can sleep on the floor as well now

nice pictures, beautiful family mate, you are a luck man.

Loei is a great place to camp, if you are into that sort of thing. I would rather stay in your hotel BL and will venture up to try it out.

I have been looking for places to go when it is really warm in Udon. Loei came to mind due to its altitude and hilly landscape. Did it feel any cooler to you BL while you were there?

Nice one BLD brought back memories as we did that trail last year ,, did you go on to stop at Pue rea? we love the flowers in that region

green in the bin

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

Were the beds soft for humans or like concrete slabs for Thais?

Both places we stayed had good beds (soft) and freezing aircons, Both are a must if you are a large Mammel

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

I have been looking for places to go when it is really warm in Udon. Loei came to mind due to its altitude and hilly landscape. Did it feel any cooler to you BL while you were there?

They say it can get cooler there but the few days we were there it was steaming , same as in udon or vientiane,