A Visit to Nakhon Phanom

We recently spent a week in Nakhon Phanom and as usual we were busy with work stuff but tried to squeeze in the sights whenever possible. One of the things that impressed me was what they’ve done along the river with a beautiful sidewalk and road that goes on for several kilometers. The view of the river and the mountains is wonderful. They also have well marked signs to direct you to the few historical sights; better signage then most of Thailand. There is a noticeable mix of Vietnamese culture in the city which is pretty unique; even more than in Mukdahan. The hotel we stayed at is called Baan Phuan Resort. It’s got a “short stay” section which I don’t like but it has some nice bungalows with a soft bed, aircon and they can deliver Thai food to your door. What more could you want for 400b?

Nakhon Phanom is a sleepy little city that closes down about the same time as small villages and we struggled to find an open restaurant when we arrived at 9pm. Actually, we had a hard time finding restaurant we liked much of our time there. On the map below I marked one of our favorite restaurants near the river. It’s one of those “we’ll make you anything you want” kind of Thai restaurants.

The 3rd friendship bridge was recently completed (above) and I would have loved to drive over to the Laos side, but the cost of a visa for just a day trip wasn’t worth it to me. If I go into Laos I’m going to make it a long trip to make it worth the cost. Anyway, enough of my boring analysis of Nakhon Phanom. Below is a map of a few places worth visiting, pictures and a video. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.