Sangkhom Stopover Tour

Day 1 – Ban Chiang
On the way north from Khon Kaen we will stop to meet the urban monkeys that live in Kumphawapi’s town center and visit a weaving village, then head to Ban Chiang, the site of an enigmatic civilization that began making bronze tools around 2000 BC; long before any other known place in East Asia. The myriad artifacts unearthed here, most famously the iconic burnt ocher swirl pottery, rewrote the history books and today can be seen both inside the excellent Ban Chiang National Museum and in situ at a burial ground excavation site. Mixing the ancient with the modern, we’ll visit a village where locals make large hand-made pots using the original method, which uses no potter’s wheel and see how sticky rice baskets are woven before heading up to Nong Khai city on the Mekong River.

Overnight in Nong Khai

Day 2 – Nong Khai & Sangkhom
The highlight of your morning tour of low-key Nong Khai is Sala Kaew Ku, a wonderfully bizarre religious center filled with immense and strange concrete sculptures blending Buddhist and Hindu iconography. We’ll also stop by both the popular Tha Sadet Market, filled with bric-a-brac from across Southeast Asia, and a local fresh market, full of local foods you won’t find at home, and see incredible Buddhist murals at some of the city’s most interesting temples. Leaving Nong Khai, we’ll trace the Mekong River to visit a topiary park and spring roll wrapper making village. Near the lovely riverside town of Sangkhom we’ll gaze over the Mekong from Wat Pa Tak Suea, which is perched atop a soaring cliff and has one of the best viewpoints along the river. In the rainy season or beginning of the cool season we’ll also see a lovely waterfall. Relaxing Sangkhom town sits right on the river.

Overnight in Sangkhom

Day 3 – Phu Phrabat & Ban Phue
We’ll start the day seeing sitting mats being woven in a small village and then head to the hills of Phu Phrabat, where the beautiful historical park protects ancient rock carvings and paintings, as well as some incredible natural rock formations. We’ll than see the punishments awaiting in Hell at Wat Pho Chai Si’s unusual sculpture park and later visit the home of a family that makes palm sugar. Finally, we’ll stop at a temple full of tens of thousands of elephants statues given as offerings for wishes granted before returning to Khon Kaen.

If our itinerary doesn’t fit your exact needs and desires, please let us know. With advance notice we can usually modify things.