Things to Do in Nong Khai in September

Sala Kaew Ku is Nong Khai's most extraordinary attraction in any season. September gives it a quality dry months cannot match. Massive concrete sculptures, some towering 25 m (82 ft) tall, depict figures from Buddhist and Hindu cosmology. They stand in a garden that turns lush and overgrown in the monsoon. Moss creeps up the nagas and demons. Rain streaks the faces of giant Buddhas. The whole park takes on a slightly eerie, otherworldly atmosphere. Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat spent decades building these. The scale only hits when you stand at the base of the reclining Buddha with rain dripping off its toes. Come early morning when grounds are still misty and concrete is dark with overnight rain. You will have the entire park nearly to yourself. Allow two hours minimum to walk the full grounds.

Crossing into Laos from Nong Khai takes less than an hour. A September day trip to Vientiane is one of the most interesting border crossings in Southeast Asia. The Thai Lao Friendship Bridge spans 1.17 km (0.73 miles) over the Mekong. In September the river beneath is a churning brown expanse that makes the crossing feel consequential. Vientiane's tempo slows further in wet season. Lanes around Wat Si Saket, the oldest surviving temple in the capital, are quiet and rain washed. Laotian coffee shops along the riverfront serve thick, sweet drip coffee to near empty houses. Pha That Luang, the gold stupa that anchors the city skyline, gleams against monsoon clouds in a way harsh dry season sun washes out. Budget a full day. Morning departure, afternoon return. Lunch at one of the Mekong facing spots on the Laotian side where you can watch the same river you woke up beside, now from the opposite bank.

The glass skywalk at Wat Pa Tak Suea sits roughly 25 km (15.5 miles) west of Nong Khai town. It juts from a cliff face above the Mekong. September turns the view beneath your feet into something dramatic. The river is wide and fast below. Forest canopy presses in from both sides, saturated green. When clouds sit low over Laotian mountains across the water, the sense of elevation amplifies. The temple grounds are calm and forested, with walking paths through old growth trees where air is noticeably cooler than in town. Humidity means glass can fog slightly. Morning visits when air is clearest tend to reward. The skywalk is free to visit, though the temple appreciates donations. It is an active monastery. Dress modestly. Remove shoes where indicated.

Nong Khai's freshwater aquarium, one of the largest in Thailand, is the ideal September afternoon when rain hammers the town and you need somewhere cool and dry. The facility focuses on Mekong River species, including the giant Mekong catfish, pla buek, which can grow to 3 m (10 ft) and weigh as much as a small car. September is a relevant time to visit because the monsoon floods are when many of these species migrate upriver to spawn, so the interpretive displays connect directly to what is happening in the actual river outside. The tanks are well maintained and the signage, in Thai and English, goes deeper than most Thai aquariums into the ecology of the Mekong basin. Allow 90 minutes to two hours. The grounds outside the building, along the riverbank, are flooded and atmospheric in their own right during the wet season.

The stretch of road running along the Mekong from central Nong Khai east toward Sala Kaew Ku is flat, shaded, and in September, practically deserted. Early morning, before the rain cycle begins, the air is warm but not yet suffocating, and the river beside you is running high and fast enough that you can hear the current from the road. Fishermen set long-tail nets from the banks. Temple bells ring from wats set back among the trees. The smell of charcoal grills firing up at roadside stalls mixes with the wet-earth scent of the monsoon landscape. The route is roughly 10 km (6 miles) one way, entirely manageable on the single-speed bicycles available from guesthouses in the town center. Stop at the morning food vendors along the route for sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves and grilled pork skewers with jaew dipping sauce, that charred-chili condiment that is Isan in a single bite. Start by 6:30 AM and you will be back before the afternoon clouds build.

Nong Khai's Tha Sadet Market and the evening food stalls along the Mekong promenade are where the town's real character concentrates, and September's low season means the vendors are cooking for locals, not tourists. The night market sets up along the riverfront as the sun drops, and the first thing that hits you is the smoke from charcoal grills, sweet and acrid, mixing with the green-chili punch of som tam being pounded to order in heavy clay mortars. Nong Khai is famous across Isan for its Vietnamese-style spring rolls, neung, translucent rice-paper wraps stuffed with glass noodles, pork, and fresh herbs that arrived with the Vietnamese community generations ago. You dip them in a sour-sweet sauce that bites back with bird's-eye chili. The larb at the market stalls, minced meat tossed with toasted rice powder, lime, fish sauce, and enough chili to make your lips tingle, comes with a basket of sticky rice and a plate of raw vegetables, the cabbage leaves and morning glory still cool from the vendor's ice bucket. Eating here at dusk, with the Mekong sliding past in the dark and the lights of Laos glimmering on the far bank, is the single best thing to do in Nong Khai in any month.