Mukdahan
Mekong Border Town Facing Savannakhet In Laos Across The Second Thai Lao Friendship Bridge (2006) · Mukdahan, Mukdahan
Mukdahan is a small, relaxed provincial capital on the west bank of the Mekong in north-eastern Thailand, looking straight across the river at Savannakhet, the second city of southern Laos. The Second Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, opened in 2006, links the two towns and carries an international bus, so Mukdahan is both a border crossing and a trading town. Its heart is the Indochina Market, a long covered bazaar on the riverfront selling Lao, Vietnamese and Chinese goods: dried fish and sausages, snacks, fabrics, household wares, toys and cheap clothes. A riverside promenade runs past the market and old temples such as Wat Si Mongkhon Tai, and south of the centre the Mukdahan Tower rises above the town with a viewing floor and a small museum. Many families have Vietnamese roots, so breakfasts of Vietnamese-style pork rolls, noodle soups and eggs in a pan are part of daily life. Out of town are the mushroom-shaped rocks of Phu Pha Thoep National Park, a hilltop temple with a great naga, and the villages of the Phu Tai people.
Indochina Market, Samran Chai Khong Road, Mukdahan, Mukdahan, 49000, Thailand
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: the Indochina Market trades daily from roughly 7 or 8 am to about 5 or 6 pm, busiest on weekend mornings; the promenade food stalls run from about 4 or 5 pm to about 9 or 10 pm. The Mukdahan Tower usually opens daily from about 8 am to about 6 pm, with last entry around 30 minutes before closing; check. Phu Pha Thoep National Park is usually open daily from about 8 am to 4.30 or 5 pm. The border at the bridge is open daily from early morning to late evening, commonly about 6 am to 10 pm, with the international bus running from morning until early evening and overtime fees charged at weekends and outside office hours. The traps that ruin a day are arriving at the market in mid-afternoon, missing the last bus back from Savannakhet, driving to Kaeng Kabao in the wet season when the rocks are under water, and being refused alcohol during the restricted afternoon hours. Confirm current times before relying on them.