Chiang Khan

Chiang Khan is a single long street of two-storey wooden shophouses running parallel to the Mekong in northern Loei, with Laos on the far bank. The buildings are the town's asset - teak, tiled, with shuttered upper floors and open fronts - and from the 2000s they were converted in large numbers into guesthouses, cafes and shops, turning a quiet river town into one of the north-east's main domestic destinations. Two things structure a stay. In the evening the street closes to traffic and becomes a walking market. Before dawn, monks from the town's temples walk the street for alms and residents and visitors kneel to offer sticky rice, which is a genuine daily observance that has also become the thing visitors photograph. The cool season brings mist on the river and the town fills; weekends are crowded and accommodation books out. Outside the season it is quiet and many places close.

What you actually see

• The wooden street - two-storey teak shophouses along the river.
• The dawn alms round - monks walking the street, with sticky rice offered.
• The evening walking market - the street closed to traffic after dark.
• The Mekong - the river and the Lao bank opposite.

When to go

November to February for the cool season and river mist; that is also when it is busiest and accommodation books out. Weekdays are quieter than weekends.

Honest expectations

The alms round is a religious observance - kneel or stand back, do not block the monks, and do not photograph into their faces. Heavily commercialised since the 2000s. Very crowded in the cool season; quiet and half closed outside it.

Nearby

Phu Ruea and Loei are south; the Mekong runs east toward Nong Khai.