The governor’s residence museum.
Nakhon Phanom provincial governor's old residence is a unique beautiful building in Western-style architecture, influenced by the French colonial architecture from the period before the Indochina war. The museum is divided into different sections:
First floor, section 1 displays the memories of local residents and biographies of the past governors through the photos.
Section 3 Muan Suen Nakhon Phanom. A story of cultural diversity and lifestyle that is shared between people from Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.
2nd Floor, section 1 express the story with images and sound of the time when his majesty the King and Queen came for overnight visits.
Section 2 exhibits the large bedroom where his majesty the King and Queen were staing during their visits to the city. However, there is no furniture, since the Bureau of the Royal Household brought all of the furniture to Nakhon Phanom for the duration of the visit only.
The exhibition has a large collection of historical photographs, including topics such as the fire boats and royal visits to the province. Descriptions are mainly in Thai, often accompanied by limited English translations. In the building there is an English language lending library, open to the public. The library was established by the volunteer teachers from WorldTeach 2009-10, and continues to grow with new contributions.
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The former governrnor's residence museum.
Chao Pho Muen Nakhon Phanom Shrine
There are two houses, the first one is a Thai style shrine and the second is a Chinese style shrine. Nakhon Phanom people of Chinese descent came together to build this shrine out of respect and faith in the sanctity of who they refer to as The Ten Thousand Godfather.
Click here for google street view - See Map (it is on the other side of the street for this shop)
Weekend Night Market on Chayangkun road
It starts approximately by the customs office and continues upstream for about 300 meters or so. It is open every Friday to Sunday around 17:00 and closes around 21:00. The market is surprisingly large; you find food, drinks, elecronics, denims, t-shirts, underwear and a lot of other stuff.
The choise of food is great, you will surely come across something you like. There are several vendors offer the well known lsaan grilled sausage with fresh chili and ginger, cabbage - spicy and well tasting. There are also many kinds of the local variant of pancackes, grilled lumps of sticky rice (size of a hocky puck), barbequed fish and dried squid and a whole lot more. If you are up for the full monty; deep fried sugar coated small frogs or bugs. Dont worry, the taste is not so bad as it sounds.
Click here for google street view Night Market starting point - See Map
Click here to see more of Nakhon Phanom food.
Bus terminal
Just as you could expect; a bus terminal is a chaotic and busy place. You will find a lot of different companies offering tickets on many price points. The international routes includes Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. Its not easy, but if you want to have a look around instead of flying, this is the way.
If you are going to Laos - and this changes a lot - the bus to Thakhek runs every hour from 08:00 until 17:00. Make sure you have Thai Baht to pay in Laos.
See this page about a Lao roundtrip.
Be aware that some companies may have other pickup/drop-off points than the terminal, they are usually located close to the bus terminal.
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Isaan grilled sausuages (ไส้กรอกอีสาน)
OTOP Store Nakhon Phanom
What is OTOP?
In short; The One Tambon One Product (tambon = subdistrict) movement is a self-help effort wherein rural communities participate in the creation of a product that can be sold locally and internationally. These are items made in village communities around the country, each lovingly crafted with the inimitable flavours and style of their localities. Visit the Nakhon Phanom store and take a look at the products and handicrafts.
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Soontaree Arts & Culture Market
The market area is devided into 9 zones, including souvenirs, northeastern Thai OTOP products, collecting local and tribal products in the province, such as local textiles, northeastern cotton, dyed cotton, sacred wood loincloth designed as a cool outfit to match the modern era.
The market has an open space next to the Mekong that has been organized into a showcase for Thai organic farming, including an earthworm farm. Good place to get a meal, great scenery of Mekong.
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Mekong Under Water World
The Menam Khong (Mekong) Under Water World just outside the city takes you into the river with various aquaria displaying rare and endangered fish species besides common ones.
The Under Water World is part of the Science Center for Education and when buying entrance ticket for the water world, you receive a free entrance to The Chakri Dynasty Honor Center. In here you find history of Royal Family among historical facts about Isan, specifically the Mekong area.
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The Chakri Dynasty Honor Center.
King Rama IX and Queen Sirikit visited Naknon Phanom to show their moral support for active reconnaissance company during the Cold War. The royal couple stayed at a tent near Nong Yat reservoir. Later a museum to commemorate their unceasing commitment to the needs of the people of Thailand was established. This museum not only displays a history of the monarchy institution, but also exhibits a story of Nakhon Phanom, a background on 7 local stupas and an exhibition on the life of 7 local tribes. There is an exclusive hall with photos and descriptions on each royal visit.
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Suan Chom Khong park
Chom Khon Park is a public park that was built in the area that used to be a prison. The former prison building has a museum that is open to the public to visit.
In front of the garden there are fountains and sculptures of various tribes in Nakhon Phanom, such as Phu Tai, Tai Kha, Tai Yo, Tai Saek, Tai Soh, Thai Kalerng, Tai Lao and Tai Kuan.
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Ho Chi Minh President's Memorial and house
Many people may not know that small village of Ban Na Jok (Thai-Vietnamese Friendship Village), just outside Nakhon Phanom, is a place of great historical significance. This is because President Ho Chi Minh or Uncle Ho lived there from 1923 to 1930. He was forced to go underground during the struggle for independence from France.
The Vietnamese kept the house secret for decades after Ho moved out because of the prevailing anti-communist feelings of Thai governments and the insecure position of the large Vietnamese exile community, mainly along the Mekong river near the Laotian border.
The house has been restored to its original condition, including Ho's personal desk, with the help of donations from ethnic Vietnamese residents of the area. The Memorial opened May 19th, 2016 and is worth a visit.
More reading here.
Click for google street view Ho Chi Minh house.
Click for photo of the entrance of the Memorial.
Click for photos of the house and garden.
Ho Chi Minh or Uncle Ho
Vietnamese clock tower
Close to the banks of the Mekong - in the cafe area - you find the Vienamese built clock tower. It is about 50 meters tall. The tower was built by resident Vietnamese refugees in 1960. It was a departing gift to the people of Nakhon Phanom for their hospitality during the war. Despite all people that left, Nakhon Phanom today, has a large Vietnamese community.
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Sights and sounds of Nakhon Phanom.
Suan Luang Rama 9 Park
Created as a royal offering on the occasion of His Majesty's 50th birthday, a park was built. This was to make a place of recreation for the people located on the north side of the city.
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