Exploring Mukdahan (My Kind of Town) 🇹🇭 Journey Along The Mekong

Exploring Mukdahan (My Kind of Town) 🇹🇭 Journey Along The Mekong

Behind me here is the mighty Mekong. And 
for more than 800 km, it forms the natural border between Thailand and Laos. And for the next 
few weeks, this beautiful stretch of water is going to be our guide as we explore this 
beautiful and underrated part of Southeast Asia. Along the way, I’ll be stopping in small villages,   exploring hidden corners of different provinces, 
and discovering stories of culture, history, food, and the incredible people who call 
this part of Thailand their home. So, come and jump on my motorcycle and 
join me on this journey along the Mekong. [Music] We begin at sunrise today over the Mekong here in 
the magnificent Nahkon Phanom. Good morning. Welcome back to the Mekong. [Music] The mornings here 
are by far the most magical part of the day. So, if you’re in the region, wake up early. 
It’s always worth it. Morning, [Music] Zelda. [Music] So, the plan for today, enjoy the morning, 
enjoy the sunrise, try and find some coffee, try and find some breakfast, and let’s just 
see where the road and the river takes us. [Music]   You know, when I was planning this trip 
along the Mong, I wasn’t really sure. I wasn’t really sure if it was going to 
spit out enough places, enough activities, enough experiences to make an interesting series. 
I really wasn’t sure if it was going to be this many episodes. But we’re here at the halfway point 
when we started in Chiang Khan in the province of Loei We’ve snaked around the provinces of Nong Khai, 
Buen Khan, and here Nahkon Phanom. There’s only three more provinces before the end of the Mekong. Well, 
before it snakes back into Laos and disappears through Cambodia and Vietnam. But I really wasn’t 
sure that, you know, there was going to be this much beauty, this many towns, this much just 
absolute untouched beautiful scenes, nature, landscapes, activities, temples, people, food. 
I’ve had such a good time. And we’re only halfway. Right here on the river outside my hotel every 
morning from 6:00 till 1:00 p.m. this gentleman with his Nepalese flags, he is pitched up here 
with picnic tables and deck chairs and you can just have a beautiful, gorgeous cup of coffee and 
enjoy the morning view. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Oh, that’s good. [Music] So, after another stunning morning, we 
had accomplished two of our three quests.   Sunrise and coffee was now complete. All we 
need to do is track down some breakfast. And since we are in the food capital of the Mon 
region, this shouldn’t be too hard. Okay, it feels good to be packed up and ready 
to get back on the road. Actually,   between the previous video and this one, I took 
some time off. I needed to catch up on editing, do a little bit of resting, and obviously 
I just spent the previous two days with Gary and Finley eating our way around Nakon 
Panom. And there are so many amazing places, especially to get breakfast, that um I can’t leave 
Nakon Panom without getting some more delicious Vietnamese pancakes and dumplings. This lady here 
cooks it on this skillet, and it is so delicious. Honestly, it’s worth coming 
to Nakon Panam just for these. Honestly, these pork and chai filled pancakes are   just to die for. And this one with 
the fried egg in the middle. I mean, it’s just ridiculous. Locations are linked below. 
Thank me later. Right. Shall we get a move on? Okay, that was officially a breakfast of 
champions. Now, one thing to note as we leave the beautiful city of Nakon Panom with this gorgeous 
golden naga waving us goodbye is it’s actually a really big festival today and tomorrow. It’s 
called Loyaton. If you know Thailand pretty well, you’ll know exactly what this festival is. But in 
Thailand, every loyratong, the first full moon, well, the only full moon of November, Thai 
people will go to the river and they will make a beautiful cret and set it downstream and 
just sort of get rid of some negative energy and bring in good luck. And it’s a very important 
Buddhist holiday. There is a city about half a day’s drive from here, Mukdahan, and it’s a 
slightly smaller version of Nakon Panom. So, I’m sure there’ll be something fun going on there 
this evening and tomorrow. So, I think we’ll stay   there two nights and enjoy Loy Kraton. If you’ve 
ever seen the Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai, that’s on the same day that they kind of combine 
the Chinese holiday Yeping and Latong. they put it together and that’s why, you know, you get that 
famous lantern festival imagery. But here’s the thing. Unfortunately, sadly, Thailand lost its um 
queen. She uh passed a few weeks ago and they are still very much so in a uh in a time of mourning. 
And so because of that, all of the festivities, all of the celebrations are on, you know, on 
mute. There still will be a festival. There still will be lanterns, but there’ll just be less 
dancing, less music than normal. As we say goodbye to Nakon Panon, we drive past its beautiful 
temple here on the banks of the Mong. And we can start making our way. There is another town 
called Tat Panom, not too far away from here. So, let’s just enjoy the morning ride and see 
what the world has in store for us today. As per usual, it wasn’t long before something 
caught my eye. There was something golden   shimmering in the sunlight. So, let’s pop our 
heads in here and see what we can find. [Music] Wow. The Meong never fails to amaze me. Now, we’ve 
seen these type of temples all over Nakon Panom and Isan. I’ve mentioned this before, but 
they’re this shape because it symbolizes   the path to enlightenment directly up. They’re 
normally white and then flashes of gold. This one is particularly gold and because it’s a 
sunny day, it is blinding. It’s a good job I got my sunglasses on. This one is fantastic. You 
know, normally in different areas of Thailand, they get a little bit of temple fatigue. 
Temples tend to be the same. Same design, same layout with only a few differences. But 
here, they’re just so unique and different. You don’t really get that sense of temple fatigue. 
Instead, I’m finding myself pulling over over and over and over again. Look at these and marvel 
at them because they are so unique. You don’t   get these in any other region of Thailand. Just 
here along the Mong and on the other side of the river in Laos as well, you do get them as well. 
They’re beautiful. This one particularly. So, okay, that’s a first for me. That’s the first 
time one of these temples has been open. And I   peaked my head in and oh my goodness gracious 
me, it is a golden shimmering hall with over 13 different statues glistening under 
candle light, glistening under fancy chandeliers and oh my goodness. And then in 
the middle there is the most revered statue. Oh my god, it was incredible. Really, 
really, really, really, really,   really beautiful. I love coming to all of these 
buildings, whether they’re churches, temples, mosques. Even though I’m not religious in 
any way anymore, these areas always just fill me with some sort of special, untangible, 
unexplainable feeling. And I love it. particularly the Buddhist temples because they’re always 
so colorful and bling like this one. [Music] [Music] [Music] Where possible, I much prefer to be on these 
quieter roads that run along right next to the river. You can see a lot more of the agricultural 
work, a lot more of the farmland, the crops, people’s homes, little villages, and you have a 
much more intimate experience between the road, the bike, and uh this marvelous land that 
we’re exploring. We’re coming into a town called Tap Hanom. I think it’s a small little 
village. Definitely a good spot to refuel. I’ve shared some incredible places on this trip so 
far, but one place I haven’t shown you that I come   to literally every single day is the garage. 
This is where I come to fuel up. I always put in about 120 B to fill her up. And also every 
single one of these garages has a trusty cafe Amazon. Normally I get my ice americano, but since 
I had that lovely one by the river this morning, I’ll just get a little iced tea. These places 
are really good because they’re everywhere in   Thailand. Good place to get coffee, good place 
to fuel up, good place to use a clean toilet. And they normally have a 7-Eleven and there’s a little 
laundry shop here. and always uh on the side of the road in the heart of a village or in the heart 
of a town just like this one here in Tapanom very very boring but just this is a a daily thing 
that I do on the bike and I haven’t shown you [Music] carbon cut this is also probably the 
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thanks again to Squarespace for sponsoring our adventure today. Let’s finish this drink and 
let’s get back on the road. [Music] This gas station’s got some good vibes. It’s always 
amazing in Thailand. There’s like six, seven people working at every gas station 
and it just makes things so much easier,   so much more pleasant. They do it for you. They 
get your change. They give you a bottle of water. And here they even have some tunes playing. Thank you. Now, I told you it’s not the most 
interesting experience compared to the rest of the mong. But anyway, there you go. I finally 
shared with you my daily chores. [Music] Not much to report on this section of the 
ride, guys. Uh just lots of farmland,   the main road, and just a pretty standard 
few hours heading south towards Mohadan. [Music] Eventually, I arrived and I needed to 
find a place to stay and I saw something on Google Maps that looked quite interesting. Okay, 
I think I found a place for tonight. Looks quite cute. Have a look at this. So, it’s like 800 bar 
a night for a little cottage right on the Mong. And there’s a nice garden. It’s about 5 minutes 
away from town. And I can park my bike right here, which is really handy. It’s cute, isn’t 
it? I mean, what a location. Fantastic. Another place just to rest, relax, enjoy this 
breeze on a bean bag, unpack, get settled, and then we’ll go explore Mukhadan. And find out 
if the festivities for Loyong are going ahead. If they are, are they tonight or are they tomorrow? 
Cuz I still haven’t quite figured that out. Oh,   a little twin. Hello. Um, my my pen. My pen. 
It’s okay. Wi-Fi. I got free free coffee. Nambla happy days. Thank you. It’s very cute. 
And we got Wi-Fi. 800 Bart. It’s a bit more than my usual 500 600 B a night, but I mean 
for the location, they’ve got an executive cabin that was 1,200. And I said, “No, I 
think I’ll just stick with the standard. This is lovely. This is really, really cool. And 
not only is it got a beautiful garden and some bean bags under this beautiful tree, so there’s 
loads of shade, I can just enjoy this breeze, but there’s also this path that goes all the way 
into town. So, I can go for a walk into town, enjoy the evening, and walk along the 
Mong all the way home. And they close   these gates at 9:00 p.m. So, plenty of time. 
Uh, I’ve even got a key if I need to. So, this is one of the coolest places 
I’ve stayed. 800 Bart per night. [Music] If you ever find yourself 
sat by the Mong on a sunny day, sitting on a bean bag with the sun shining 
and the breeze blowing, you’ll understand why it’s the perfect place to take a nap and 
to think up a plan for the rest of the day. Okay, here’s the plan. So, let’s just relax, 
enjoy this incredible moment, this breeze, this shade, and this view. Nearby, there is 
somewhere incredible that I want to take you to. It’s a place I’ve been before, but it was 
under construction and uh looked absolutely beautiful back 3 years ago. So, I can’t wait to 
see how that’s changed and grown and hopefully finished. And then we’ll head into Mukhadan town 
in the evening around 5:00. Watch the sun go down. See what festivities are going on. See if there’s 
anything cultural interesting happening with Loy   Cretong. Maybe buy a Cretong and put it down the 
Mong. And just kind of get a vibe of this area of uh the Meong. Oh my god, this breeze is heavenly. 
It’s it’s a it’s a hot day, but this breeze is just like your personal natural AC. I love it. 
Okie dokie. Welcome to this beautiful place. So, a few changes that I’ve noticed immediately because 
last time I was here, it was under construction. Um, there is a lot more to this area this time and 
it’s free to enter and they even have a road that they’ve built and a complimentary van that will 
take you up towards this hill where there are many goodies. There is a donation box. I put 100 Bart 
in because they’ve built all of this for us to enjoy at no charge. So, there are some more bells 
here. And there’s two things that I’m most keen to show you. The first I’m going to keep my voice 
down a little bit before I go into it because this is a an active temple and this is a religious 
holiday. So, I’m sure there’ll be uh quite a   few things going on. There is a beautiful snaking 
Naga statue on top of this lava field. Basically, it looks like lava. And there are beautiful red 
ribbons which are flapping in the wind. Tie people by the ribbons and put a little prayer or a little 
wish on them and hang them on the trees, hang them around the statue, hoping that the serpent will 
pay attention and listen. And um the way that the wind passes through this forest and through the 
dragon. It’s really beautiful and you can almost   hear the sound of the prayers being whispered out 
to the Meong if you’ve got an imagination like me. And then further up there’s a a huge beautiful 
white statue of a monk looking out across the Meong. That was the one that was mainly a building 
site last time. So I’m interested to see how that   is. But uh let me take you into the Naga and tell 
you more of the the story of this creature cuz it’s really interesting. In Thai and Lao culture, 
this naga is believed to be the guardian of the rivers. powerful serpent spirit that not only 
protects the people but brings in good fortune. Locals believe here that if you make a wish with 
a pure heart, the naga will carry it down the mong and make it come true. And with all this natural 
erosion on the rocks, it really makes it look like the serpent once lived here. Honestly, truly 
stunning and somewhere well worth a visit. [Music] It’s even more beautiful than I remember since we 
went to the uh Naga cave recently in Bernan where we saw this similar type of rock, right? It really 
looks like the serpent’s skin. And so if you were a believer of all of this mythology, right, you 
would think maybe this is where it lives. Maybe it’s buried here. Maybe it’s fossilized on the 
banks of the Mong. And these statues that they’ve built are just so colorful, so beautiful. I 
love the form of it, the twisting nature of the the body, the colorful blue scales, the golden 
underbelly, the sharp scales, its beautiful beard, and it’s flashes of gold and greens and blues. 
It’s one of the most beautiful statues of Naga. And uh with all of this color, the 
reds on these bright green trees, it’s really it’s really striking. And with this 
sun coming through, gorgeous. I think it would be even better to come here late afternoon in 
golden hour. But I think that’s the best time to be down by the river today, especially 
with Loaton fast approaching. I love this angle from the front here. There’s the statue. 
And then just between it is the big Buddha. And they’re all facing the river. It’s gorgeous. You 
can see right into Mukhadan. And the opposite, what’s it called? Savanet in Laos, 
another town. On the other side, just up the stairs is a giant Buddha 
statue that used to be a building site,   but thankfully it’s finished. And as you can 
see, it’s huge and extremely beautiful. [Music] [Music]   You’ll often see people going up 
the stairs to touch or place their hands on the Buddha’s fingers. This is 
just a gesture of deep respect. [Music] So yeah, another really interesting thing 
and another part of Thai culture that we can learn together here in the Mong under 
the big Buddha’s hand. I actually touched its finger last time. Yeah, a really magical 
place with a fantastic view. But let’s head back down to the river and find out if there’s 
anything going on for Lloyd Katang or not. I found myself a nice riverside 
restaurant. Going to have a bit of food,   watch the world go by and just wait to see how 
this festival of Lyong unfolds. As you can see, the monks are uh positioning themselves 
near the water. I’m sure there will be some festivities. There has to be. But it seems 
very mellow for obvious reasons as I’ve told. So, we’ll just eat. I’ll have a quiet beer. This is 
a fantastic place to be. The breeze, I feel like I’ve mentioned the breeze 10 times today, but it 
is godly. It’s so good. And then we’ll just wait for the sun to go down. And Latong is the type 
of festival that’s only enjoyed after dark. It involves candle light, incense burning, and the 
lanterns come alive at night. And the cretang, I don’t think there’s going to be any lanterns. 
There’s an airport across the uh across the river.   It’s one of the reasons why I can’t really fly 
my drone at most of this area because just over there on the Lao side is a big airport. I think 
I’m going to order some typical Thai food. Lab, some kale with pork belly, maybe some 
sticky rice and a cold beer. Why not? Okay, that was a delicious dinner. And as I was 
just finishing, the moon, the full moon just started to rise up out over the horizon. And as 
the song goes on Ly Cret, November full moon rise. And it seems like a lot of people are starting 
to arrive. And uh I think they’re even starting to do katons in the distance. But that full moon 
is stunning. November full moonshine. Loy cratong loang. Everybody at the clong. Each one with 
their craton. As we push away we pray we can make a better day. I think that’s how it goes. So 
a cretang normally has flowers, incense, sometimes money, sometimes hair, sometimes fingernails from 
the person who’s pushing it onto the river and it signifies taking away bad energy, bad karma, 
bringing in good luck and good fortune for the   rest of the year. But because sometimes people 
put money in it, these little boys are trying to fish the gratons that have already been put in the 
river, trying to catch them, bring them to shore, and have a look if they’ve got any money. cuz 
they might have a 20 B note in there and then that could be a good night on the town. Very profitable 
festival if you’re frugal and you’ve got a bamboo stick for a fishing rod. So I am going to buy a 
cretang and push it away for two reasons. One, I do love doing it. I haven’t done it for a 
while actually. And secondly, me and Miss P, we’re we’re trying to get something. We’re trying 
to like bring in some good luck at the moment, and she’s just put her cretons in the river, and 
I want to do it, too. It’s still a bit early, but these people are still finishing preparing 
their cretons to sell. There are normally two types. one that’s made from banana leaf 
and some flowers. And then there’s ones   that they make from fish food because the fish 
food is a bit more biodegradable, a bit more, you know, the fish eat them and it’s 
better for the environment. [Music] Oh, [Music] our choo. [Music] Oh. Oh, I like this one. Okay. Cop. Okay, I got my kretong. I went for the fish food 
one. Better for the environment. And there was a cute little girl selling them. only 20 Bart 
really cheap and look this is not the most fantastic example of Lyang I am fully aware of 
that it’s normally a fantastic big huge thing especially in Bangkok and especially in Mai but 
here in Mohadan on the Mong with the situation with the queen it’s all pretty subdued plus 
it’s a bit early but I want to get this in the river because I want some Good luck hopefully 
to come down the stream for me and Miss P. Okay, push away. Push away the bad stuff 
and hopefully it’ll bring in the good stuff. See, you’ll have this going on all 
night. families and kids, young and old, going down together as a family. They’ll say 
a little prayer. They’ll all decide on what they’re going to wish for and then 
they push it into the river. [Music] You know, I’ve done this festival a dozen times, 
normally in Bangkok or Chiang Mai. And because it’s so popular and it’s an Instagrammable 
thing, I think I’ve always missed the point which here in Mukhadan it seems to be so family 
orientated. It’s moms, dads, babies, grandparents, grandchildren all coming together and they’re all 
doing it as a family. And I don’t know why I’ve missed it in the past. It’s been quite distracting 
with lanterns going up in the sky and fire, but it’s actually a beautiful family orientated 
event here on the river. And with this full moon and this weather and this breeze, it’s quite 
magical even though it is very understated uh for for reasons we’ve talked about many 
times. You know, I’m thinking now I didn’t even light my incense because I didn’t have a 
lighter. I didn’t put any fingernails or money   in there. If what me and Miss P are wishing 
for doesn’t come true, I think it’s my fault. [Music] Okay, this seems like the perfect place to end 
today’s episode. It was fun. It was relaxing. It was a typical day on the Meong. Wasn’t the 
most exciting episode. We didn’t do the most crazy parachuting or back flipping or sliding 
down waterfalls, but not every road trip has to be banger after banger after banger. And this 
particular stretch of the river is a bit more   chilled out. And so I think the video is going 
to relay that information to you. So maybe you’ll be like, “Right, we’ve got to go there. looks 
really up my alley. I had it a little look in the town. There are a few bars, you know, there’s 
a craft beer place on the river. Looks quite cool,   live music, but I didn’t really fancy it. I’m 
pretty tired and I just want to have an early night because I got up early and I normally wake 
up early every morning. So, I’ll start my day here. Might go for a run in the morning and then I 
might stay here actually another day. Another day. I need to catch up on editing and little admin 
things. But in the next video, we will continue down towards Ubon. I think we’ve got about two or 
three more days worth of driving. So, I don’t know if the next episode is the last one of this series 
or not, but either way, thanks for watching. Subscribe if you’re new. Like the video if it put 
a smile on your face. And if you want to watch the next episode right now, you can. Just click 
right here. Thanks for watching. Means the world.

This week we continue our journey along The Mekong – Head to https://www.squarespace.com/paddydoyle to get 10% off your first website or domain with Squarespace.

This week continue our journey leaving the beautiful city of Nahkon Phanom and head south towards Mukdahan where there are beautiful views of the Mekong – unique temples that you can see nowhere else in Thailand – and it’s Loy Krathong Festival so there is plenty of culture to surround ourselves in.

🗺️ – Locations Featured:
📍 Coffee in Nakhon Phanom – https://maps.app.goo.gl/Yxqj3nzqraxBCZKc7
📍 Vietnamese Breakfast – https://maps.app.goo.gl/q3BmRPKgCP5riXer9
📍 Golden Temple – https://maps.app.goo.gl/sXiJU2V3WhH6wf8S8
📍 Riverside Guesthouse – https://maps.app.goo.gl/dm2wzZSCB54re2FXA
📍 Naga Temple (+ Big Buddha) – https://maps.app.goo.gl/kLKzoAEVtLkNcoMX7

Chapters:
0:00 – The Mekong
0:53 – Sunrise / Coffee
4:07 – Amazing Breakfast
5:42 – Leaving Nahkon Phanom
8:04 – Golden Temple
12:09 – Daily Chores
15:27 – Riverside Cottage
19:35 – Magical Place
24:30 – Riverside Dinner
26:05 – Loy Krathong
31:52 – Where next?

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