As we couldn’t go to the north, we crossed to Thailand from Vientiane. It is just across the Mekong River and the border is just half an hour away from the capital with a very convenient public bus.

Isaan is in the northeast part of Thailand. It is the largest region but is often overlooked by foreigners. Yet it is where local tourists come. As it was once part of the same kingdom as Laos, its culture, food and language are in-between Thai and Laos. It is also crazy easy to cross the border from Vientiane to here, therefore we saw lots of local people at the border.

Probably lots of Thai go to much cheaper Laos on a daily basis even just for shopping. We also heard that as now marijuana is legal in Thailand, most of their supply is (illegally) produced in Laos.

Our first stop in Isaan was in Chiang Khan, a touristic destination for local people. It is a small town next to the river with cute traditional wooden houses, cute streets, lots of shops, cafes, street food, and buskers. Exactly what you’d expect from a weekend getaway town.

There is a nice riverside walkway:

With nice views of the Mekong (although still hazy due to pollution):

There is also a night street market, with many food stalls and other shops

There we bought some new clothes for Louis, finally ending the “all dark” style!