My exploration of Loei province started in the small mountain hamlet of Phu Ruea. From there, I proceeded to Chiang Khan, a sleepy town situated on the banks of the Mekong River. Chiang Khan has loads of ambiance with its many old wooden buildings, teak houses and Laotian-Thai style temples.

There is a special aura about this town – sort of reminds of old town Xingping in China - as it captures the essence of Thailand of days gone by. As evidenced by the popularity of Chiang Khan with Thai tourists – mostly from Bangkok - it is fast becoming “the hippest” tourist town in Northern Thailand.

Chiang Khan has often been compared to Pai, a small tourist mecca located in the mountains of Mae Hong Son Province. The difference is that Pai caters primarily to a young Western tourist crowd, many of whom are backpackers on the cheap; while Chiang Khan feels like ‘Thailand’, and for now, the tourists are predominantly Thai.

Walking along the main drag, which runs parallel to the Mekong River, I observed numerous guesthouses, chic boutiques and cafes - many of them housed in old wooden and teak buildings. In particular, there are numerous small coffee shops in the tourist zone. Thai people – especially young Thai people - just love to hang out at coffee ships.

Many camera toting tourists (and HiSo Thai girls) from Bangkok paraded down the streets, taking pictures of the old houses and shopping at one of the many cute gift shops. Fortunately, I did not see any Starbucks or KFC outlets. From what I could see, the bar scene has not yet contaminated Chiang Khan – so the town is fairly quiet at night.

There is an abundance of small guesthouses, hostels and homestays- many of them with just a handful of rooms. The room rates in general run from 250 baht – 900 baht or higher depending on the location of the hostel and the size of the rooms. The riverfront hostels command a higher price than those hostels that are 3-4 blocks away.

Unfortunately my visit to Chiang Khan coincided with one of the most popular holiday weekends of the year – the King’s Birthday, a national holiday. As a result, the town was booked solid and I was only able to get a small closet of a room in a guesthouse located about ¼ mile from the main drag, albeit for only one night. Due to the unavailability of rooms, I was forced to relocate to another town/village along the Mekong River for the remainder of my stay in Loei Province. Next - the Adventure continues in Pak Chom….

Chiang Khan is located about 50 kilometers north of the city of Loei. By songtaew, the trip takes about one hour.

On my most recent trip to Thailand, I explored Loei Province. Located in northeastern Thailand, Loei is relatively unknown to most western tourists (farangs) - definitely off the beaten path.

Bordered by the provinces of Udon Thani to the east, Phitsanulok to the west and Petchabun to the south, Loei is considered one of the most mountainous provinces of Thailand. It also has the reputation of having the coolest climate as well. The Mekong River flanks Loei province on its northern perimeter; across the river is the country of Laos.

Whenever I travel, I make a conscious effort to stay away from the most popular mainstream tourist places - Loei was my kind of place. During my eight days there, I visited three different places 1) Phu Ruea, a small mountain resort at about 4000 feet above sea level 2) Chiang Khan, a small and popular resort town situated on the banks of the Mekong River 3) Pak Chom, another small town on the Mekong River but a world apart from the somewhat touristy Chiang Khan.

First let’s take a look at Phu Ruea
This small mountain resort (and village) is located about 1 hour by bus from the city of Loei. Phi Ruea has many lodges and small resorts – most of them are located just off the highway. The nearby national park has many hiking trails and wonderful vistas.

Near the Phu Ruea summit – about 8 miles or so from the Park entrance and the highway - there is a large camping ground, which is especially popular with the younger crowd (35 or less). Thai campers traditionally travel in small groups by minibus, staying for one night at Phu Ruea before continuing to the next National Park in the circuit, usually Phu Kradung. On weekends and holidays, the campground is throbbing with activity.

During the early morning hours, most of the campers as well other travelers in the area congregate at the nearby Phu Ruea Peak, hoping to catch the sunrise. At the lookout point, there is a very distinctive gold Buddha surrounded by a white canopy

On the morning that I went to the summit, I met a group a group of young (and very cute) girls. They were all bundled up like Eskimos because of the relatively chilly climate and wearing their cutesy pullover animal hats. After chatting with them, I learned that they were university students from nearby Nong Khai province. Unfortunately on that morning, a thick fog enshrouded the summit and the valley below and we couldn’t see much of anything.

See Phu Ruea Photo Album
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Coming up: A study in contrasts – a look at Chiang Khan and Pak Chom , two Mekong River towns in Loei Province

It’s been a rocky start for CALYPSO ISLAND CHRONICLES in 2009. While I was on my 30-day odyssey to Thailand and Malaysia not too long ago, I discovered that Calypso Island Chronicles (and our associated website) had been hijacked by some nasty malware. This hijacking caused traffic numbers to our blog to drop significantly as many of our readers/visitors were unable to access our site and read our new material. Needless to say, this act of cybervandalism caused me a lot of aggravation and grief. Because of the hijacking, I decided to temporarily halt the blogging effort as of January 1st until the culprit was eradicated.

I can finally breathe a sigh of relief as it has been a couple of days that my webmaster – a young English bloke by the name of Paul who lives in the popular mountain resort of Pai in Northern Thailand - discovered a way to extricate the culprit (bug) from the site and banish it into the nether reaches of cyberspace. The details of this hijacking and how you can protect your website from being vandalized by this insidious type of malware will be treated in a subsequent blogpost. Now that CALYPSO ISLAND CHRONICLES has been debugged, we will commence our blogging effort on a variety of travel topics and issues. In particular, in the next couple of months we will feature many stories, anecdotes and memories from our recent excursion to THAILAND AND MALAYSIA. For a sneak preview of upcoming stories in CALYPSO ISLAND CHRONICLES, read on…

• A day at the Beauty Salon – how I was worked over by four ladies at my favorite beauty salon in Bangkok
• Excursion to the Moslem village of Nong Chok – interesting visit to a small rural Moslem community located just 70KM outside of Bangkok
• More Snippets from Bangkok – anecdotes, tips and random observations while stationed in Thailand’s fascinating capital city
• An eerie rendezvous with Mother Teresa, Ho Chi Minh and Mao Tse Tung – a visit to the Hall of Fame, the fascinating Wax museum at the Siam Cultural Center in Ratchaburi Province



• The Starbucks Index - the cultural impact of STARBUCKS in Thailand and Malaysia
• A pleasant Saturday excursion to the 100 Year Market – colorful outdoor Thai market, a popular weekend outing for Bangkokians
• THAIger very dangerous, eat money – a rollicking adventure in NAN in Northern Thailand featuring my amiable tour guides, Nong and Chaat
• Highlights of Nan – featuring the earth dunes of Sao Din, the Thai Hibachi factory and a visit to a Mlabri village, the most primitive and poorest hilltribe people in Thailand



• The Terracotta Lady – profile of the wonderful lady who owns Mae Pundin Guesthouse, an eclectic hostelry near Chiang Mai which features ceramic making and Thai Cooking classes
• The Plant Man – Profile of one of Thailand’s premier horticulturalists and owner of Udom Gardens and Nursery in Ratchaburi Province
• The View – commentary on the heavenly views at Phu Lang Ka, Phayao Province in Northern Thailand. Out of this world!
• Passport of Pan Hu and the Yao People – While I was Phu Lang Ka, I had the opportunity to learn about the origins and history of the Yao people



• Special Memorial Tribute to Princess Galyani by the Hmong and Yao people of Phu Lang Ka – One of the most heartwarming experiences that I have ever had as a traveler
• The ruination of MELAKA – how modern development threatens to destroy the old world colonial charm of this popular tourist town in Malaysia
• Snippets from Chiang Mai – includes a stroll through the famous night Bazaar, outrageous T-Shirts, a weird experience at Whole Earth Restaurant and more!
• Snippets from Cameron Highlands – random observations and tips about this popular hill resort in Malaysia including recommended places for dining



• Lulu, the best masseuse this side of Beijing – profile of a very talented lady in Cameron Highlands. I miss her magic touch
• The search for the legendary Jim Thompson - highlights of a most memorable all day tour in Cameron Highlands featuring a muddy 3 hour hike through the rainforest to the world’s largest flower
• Snippets from LANGKAWI – random observations and travel commentary on Malaysia’s most popular beach resort.
• Dine around Plan in Langkawi – A review of my favorite places for dining in this popular Malaysian beach resort
Sphere: Related Content

LISTMANIA - One of the most popular crazes in our culture is compiling lists. People publish lists of many different things, ranging from the worst Beatle songs of all times to the top 10 reasons why George Bush will be remembered as the worst President in US history. There is even a list circulating on the internet on the top ten positions of having sexual intercourse. Of course, there are have been numerous lists compiled in the Travel Genre, and because I am a traveler and have been in the travel business a good portion of my life, I have decided to create some of my own unique travel lists. Are you ready for my first list?

…….. My 10 least favorite beach resorts of all time…………………….

#1 Pattaya (Thailand) - Sleazy, ugly and noisy beach resort; beaches are dirty and polluted. Way too many beer bars, strips clubs, Thai girls selling their body and drunken pot bellied farangs looking for cheap sex.

#2 Puerto Vallarta (Mexico) – Once a quaint beach town (way back when), development has gotten out of hand. The resort area spreads for miles and miles

#3 Jaco (Costa Rica) - beaches are polluted and not very appealing. Too many bars, loud American tourists, spring breakers and lousy restaurants

#4 Ocho Rios (Jamaica) – Fort Lauderdale, Jamaican style. Devoid of any real personality and a little bit too manicured for my tastes. Main beach is manmade and very antiseptic.

#5 Cancun(Mexico) – beautiful white sand beaches and turquoise waters, but the whole scene is very artificial and plastic - too many juvenile bars and clubs, too much traffic and far too many spring breakers and girls gone wild crowd

#6 Rosarito Beach (Baja California, Mexico) located about 1/2 hour from Tijuana – mediocre beach, nothing really special about this place

#7 San Jose del Cabo (Baja California, Mexico) The dirty gray sand beaches are very unappealing and the most of the resort hotels in this are nothing to write home about

#8 Ixtapa(Mexico) – Lovely beach, fairly quiet scene but the tourism development here is even more plastic and sterile than Cancun.

#9 Paradise Island, Nassau (Bahamas) - beautiful beach with many luxury resorts but too many plastic and phony people who think they are big shots congregate here

#10 Patong/Karon Beach (Phuket, Thailand) - Phuket is Thailand’s answer to Cancun and Patong/Karon are the two most popular resort areas. A tamer and more sanitized version of Pattaya. Nice beaches but way too many shops, shops and more shops.

Keep in mind, that my tastes and preferences may be different than yours as this is a very subjective thing. My choices probably are more of a reflection of my personality and are limited to the places I have actually visited. As a wise monkey by the name of Papa Mono once said – “One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure.”

What are your 10 least favorite beach resorts of all time?