Nong Khai

Nong Khai (หนองคาย) is a city in North-East Thailand, capital of the Nong Khai Province. It is situated on the Mekong River and is the site of the First Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge across to Laos. It is the Thai gateway to the Laos' capital of Vientiane 25 kilometres up river, on the North bank opposite the Thai town of Sri Chiang Mai. At the time of building the bridge, space for a railtrack was installed along the centre of the roadway to the Laos side; at present the railway track ends at the Thai side of the bridge. The service currently stops one kilometre short of the border at a new railway station not far from the city centre of Nong Khai. Construction of an extension to Vientiane was begun early 2007.

Nong Khai's main sight is Sala Keoku (alternatively spelled as Sala Kaew Ku, also known as Wat Khaek), a park of massive sculptures (some over 20m tall). The park is the handiwork of the mystic Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat, who bought the land in 1978 when he was exiled from his native Laos (where he had built a similar park in Vientiane in the nineteen-fifties). Synthesizing Buddhist and Hinduist ideologies, Buddhas, many-armed goddesses, a seven-headed Naga snake and all sorts of human-animal hybrids dominate the scenery.

History

See also the Haw wars, memorialized by the monument before the Old City Hall (now a museum and cultural center); and, down by the Mekong, by Wat Angkhan (Template:Lang-th), which is Pali for Ashes of the Dead[1], as well as for Mars, the planet that the Romans named for their God of War. Nearby, the city maintains the lovely little Garden of Sorrows (Template:Lang-th), with signs signifying this is where widows came to grieve.

In more recent years, Nong Khai has become a popular destination, with full Tourism Authority of Thailand and local backing, during the Buddhist Lent festival when mysterious balls of light, or Naga fireballs, rise from the Mekong river. Initially caught on video when the phenomenon first 'began,' the speed and trajectory of the 'balls of gas' closely resemble tracer bullets from AK47s. Any serious scientific analysis has been generally deemed disrespectful to local beliefs.

Economy

Nong Khai is essentially a border town with the typical traffic associated with such locations. Tourism consists mainly of short stopovers by people traveling to and from Laos. The main thoroughfare is mainly populated by hardware stores, banks and gold shops. A large, busy Indo-china market thrives in the city centre along the riverside. Visitors are catered for by a wide selection of hostelries from budget guesthouses to international hotels and thriving evening entertainment.