Markets and crazy thing on wheels in Nong Khai
We have lots of photos – taken over 3 months – in this post. We’ve come to love the markets in Nong Khai, especially the Saturday Night Market. It’s the one night of the week when this quiet town wakes up and brings all of its residents to the riverside promenade.
Having spent so much time here, it has become a social outing for us and an occasion to chat with our neighbors and favorite vendors. We love it.
Nong Khai is also famous for the Tha Sadet Market. It is also called the Indochina Market, due to the availability of goods from neighboring countries such as Laos and Vietnam (as well as China). It has to be one of the most interesting markets in all of South East Asia.
This photo post is a collection of our memories in Nong Khai. These memories comprise mostly of the people we’ve met along the way, the colours of the markets, and the sheer variety of goods (some of them bizarre) that you’ll see on sale. We’re also including some of the strange sights you’ll sometimes see rolling down the town’s streets.
Related: Bbqboy’s Ultimate Guide to the Best of Thailand
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The Saturday Night Market
Tha Sadet Market
Open everyday between about 7 am to about 6:30 pm. There is a long covered market (1st photo) that extends almost a kilometer. It branches off in some areas and in other areas it is uncovered. A huge amount of stalls selling just about anything you can imagine.
Sights around Town
We hope you found the above interesting. For us this post represents 4 months of memories.
It’s a place we’re going to miss.
Related: Guide to Nong Khai
Related: Photos of Nong Khai, Thailand. You’ll see why we love this town…
Related: Bangkok: Me luv you not so long time
.PS. Looking to book flights, hotels, tours, or rent a car? Have a look at our Travel Resources page.
The pictures are awesome! I saw a whole bunch of things I would have bought at the market, the tie dyed shirts and I love those bowls! I love the picture of the dogs in that mobile with their owner! I wonder why he doesn’t have them at home instead on front of your building, I guess it’a a Thai thing. Love the photos!!
Thanks Dee! I think Thais believe in keeping dogs outside, especially with the warm weather. We passed these dogs every day and Lissette was always nervous. But they were well behaved and would usually be sleeping next to this lady who made soup all day long on the street. Thailand a unique place.
Thanks for the photos. Reminded me of many happy days in Nong Khai.
Booked again at the Pikul for 3 months from November. Or is that Pikun….?
Best wishes
Patrick
Hi Patrick! Actually, it’s Pikul: http://pikulapartment.com/
If we were going to go back we would try to find something different, a nicer apartment. Lissette works, so it’s a lot of time in the apartment. And I’d love a little stove or something to cook.
Other than that it was fine and the price certainly right. But accommodation options (or lack thereof for shorter term travellers) was the one downside to Nong Khai.
Glad to hear you are going back. Lovely place…and Nov, Dec, Jan good months (it was only in mid Feb that started getting hazy and cloudy..)
Frank – I know the apartments are called and spelt Pikul. The point I was making was that if you want to pronounce the word to a tuk tuk driver or to get directions, you will need to say ‘ Pikun’ – which is how theThai people say it. Best wishes Patrick.
Ahh, that’s interesting. Thanks for the useful info!
Are you back there this year Patrick? Nong Khai still the same? I imagine they’ve completed the rest of the promenade that they were working on when we were there in Dec 2014?
Night markets are the best and they all look like wonderful people as well
Frank, I have enjoyed following your adventures and photos, so much so that our next trip to Thailand will include Nong Khai. A couple of questions, in your opinion what is the best time to visit there, would 2 weeks be enough and which area is best?
Enjoy the rest of your time.
John,
Tasmania.
Hi John,
Our favorite time is definitely mid-December to mid-February. The weather was cool about 25-28C, down to about 15C at night, with constant blue skies. For us that’s perfect weather. Others might like heat…right now (late March) highs range between 35-40, goes to about 25C at night. But skies constantly hazy so not ideal.
It’s a small town and if on vacation 3, 4 days will easily do it (make sure to come over a weekend so you don’t miss Saturday nights). In our case we are slow travellers and needed a base – and for that Nong Khai is perfect. We’ve been here about 3 1/2 months and have enjoyed it. But it really depends on how you travel, people on vacation might find Nong Khai too out-of-the-way and short on sights.
I’m coming out with a detailed guide next week before we leave. You might find it interesting.
Frank (bbqboy)
Love the photos – colors are amazing – the lanterns and jewelry would make great souvenirs if you ever come back – hint, hint lol
I don’t think we’ll come back 😉
Love these images! All very beautiful, but my favorite one is the monks shopping for Buddhas.. 🙂 and the man and his dogs, what a colorful vehicle he has. Glad you enjoyed your time there.
Thanks for the input Kemkem. The Tuktuks here in Nong Khai unlike others we’ve seen in Thailand. Here’s a full sized photo.