Where the Backpackers Go:
Chiang Khan - Next Gateway to Laos?

by JG Learned

In 1972, Phuket had not a single hotel, guesthouse or restaurant, outside of the rare noodle stand, on a beach. No one had heard of Krabi. Beaches were for fishermen. Koh Samui in 1978 had no beach hotels and Chaweng Beach had exactly two guesthouses on its crystal-clean waters and unlittered beach. Koh Phangan, Phanga, and Koh Chang near the Cambodian border were unknown but to a handful of the more intrepid, gypsy-like journeyers. All of those places today are part and parcel of the upscale tourist lexicon.

In the evolution of most of today's popular destinations – not just here but worldwide – the pattern is clearly defined: adventuresome travelers find places with an exceptional charm and beauty and by word-of-mouth the place gets a name; simple, inexpensive guesthouses and banana shake restaurants sprout; then they expand and up-grade or lose out to competition; large hotels, seeing opportunities, buy up the best real estate; roads and communications improve and prices continue to rise. Villages become tourist-powered small cities. Police, prostitutes, beggars, thieves and worse become integral into the whole evolving social structure. The backpackers move on, looking for less hectic, less expensive and more congenial surroundings.

The town of Chiang Khan in northeastern Thailand 's Loei Province is definitely off the well-worn track. Not so long ago the area's claim to fame was mostly for smuggling, banditry and inter-border conflicts. Hardly a shadow of its recent history remains. Today it is growing into a popular travel destination on the Mekong River .

Situated on the Mekong River , Chiang Khan is 100 kms east of Nong Khai, 103 kms northwest of Khon Kaen and 50 kms north of Loei town. Just upstream from Chiang Khan, at the confluence of the Nam Heuang River, the Mekong curves northwards inside Laos whereby a Thai/Lao land border extends northward for about 400 kilometers until it reaches Chiang Khong in Chiang Rai Province, where the Mekong again forms the Thai/Lao border until reaching Sop Ruak, the Golden Triangle.

Besides the wonderfully graceful Lao-style wats (temples), there are many activities and locations of interest nearby. One of the most pleasant excursions is to rent a riverboat for a cruise on the Mekong. The scenery is stunning as the river whirls and wends its roiling way between steep-sloped sentinel mountains, through rapids and craggy limestone outcrops.

There are kayaks, motorbikes or bicycles for rent to explore the area. In the dry season, numerous fine-sand beaches beckon. A number of interesting caves perforate the surrounding mountains: one, Tam Pha Ben Cave is said to continue underground for over a 100 kms!

Nearby waterfalls and National Parks make perfect spots for day trips and picnics. Or you can just park yourself on the veranda of a riverside guesthouse in Chiang Khan town with a cold beer and a good book and watch the Mekong, one of the world's greatest rivers – on its journey from Tibet to the South China Sea – roll by.

Eighteen kms south of town is Ban Khok (called by its inhabitants Ban Panahk), one of only 3 Tai Dam villages in Thailand . The Tai Dam (or Dai Lam, as they call themselves) are one of the original 12 Thai tribes. Six Tai Dam clans emigrated from Northern Viet Nam in the 1890s due to depredations by Chin Haw bandits. Dien Bien Phu – the site of the final French defeat in the First Indochina War – was once the ancestral capitol of the Thai Dam.

The villagers of Ban Khok today continue to speak their dialect. They preserve their weaving traditions; though only on formal or religious occasions do they wear their elegant Tai Dam costumes. They also retain their original clan names as surnames.

100 kms away, near Phu Rua National Park , the Chateau de Loei winery, produces Thailand 's best wines. It is well worth a visit; they offer wine tastings every day. The quality of the dry Chenin Blanc, served very cold, will surprise you.

Chiang Khan has changed little over the past few decades. A gentle riverside ambience still pervades the town. It feels a lot like Laos , or rural Thailand 30 years ago. Dogs asleep in mid-street simply expect you to negotiate around them. Teak buildings comprise most of the waterfront. There is busy boat traffic on the river – the Mekong is still an important trade artery here. There is little traffic on the two streets in town, one red light. What has changed though is the growing number of foreign visitors.

There are no touts or in-your-face sellers of trinkets, knock-offs and whatnots in Chiang Khan. No women who greet you with “Hello, handsome man! What you name? You buy me dink?” There are only a few local low-key karaoke clubs. What Chiang Khan offers in the evening are convivial places to meet other travelers and enjoy a few cocktails, listening to recorded music (no techno) and travelers' tales.

Several Europeans have found Chiang Khan a congenial place to live, setting up guesthouses and restaurants and enjoying a comfortable lifestyle, watching businesses grow at a steady yet leisurely pace.

Lodgings are generally of an unpretentious, simple and inexpensive nature: many guesthouses have a seductive adoptive family feel to them. Perhaps the friendliest place in town is the Chiang Khan Guesthouse situated in an old teak building on the riverbank near the center of town. It is run by Huub, a Dutchman, and his good woman Pim. For homelike hospitality and a source of local information it can't be beat. The owners organize tours through the area and have also put together a traditional Ponglang orchestra comprised of local school children.

At present, most of the travelers coming through Chiang Khan are singles, couples and families seeking respite from the techno-tourist and mass-tourism scene – looking for the ambience of the Thailand that once was. And not just backpackers: despite the conspicuous absence of large hotels, one runs across an unusually democratic cross-section of the traveling public. People don't come to Chiang Khan – yet – to view the world through 5-star goggles.

Whether or not Chiang Khan will become an upscale destination in itself or a major transit point to Laos remains uncertain. It depends largely on Laos , the fastest growing tourist destination in Asia : at present the border is closed to foreigners. The officials in Laos , most likely will eventually see the potential in opening the border. A boat service to and from Luang Prabang seems a logical next step to expand Laos ' tourism infrastructure. This is still in the conjecture stage: Laos moves slowly.

What is certain though is that more and more travelers looking for a place to lay back unhassled and see a more ‘real' Thailand, will visit and will return to Chiang Khan. The charm of Chiang Khan has not been affected. It is a town one leaves with reluctance.

Note: One thing rather strange (to the author anyways) is the local predilection towards the formalin-fortified Beer Chang – by locals and westerners alike, who eschews the less toxic but marginally more expensive Singha, Leo and Heineken brands in favor of Beer Chang. Many shops and restaurants carry only Chang. Even some of the dogs have developed a taste for it! Well, there's no accounting for taste, as they say. Formalin, by most people, is thought to be for dead folks, not live ones!