Chiang Khan: Loei's Wooden Walking Street on the Mekong
Some towns you sightsee. Chiang Khan you simply slow down in. This small district town in northern Loei sits right on the Mekong, with Laos on the far bank, and its old centre is a strip of two-storey wooden shophouses along Chai Khong Road that has become one of Thailand's best-loved walking streets. Come for two nights minimum — Chiang Khan rewards the unhurried. A Trading Town That Time Parked Chiang Khan was founded in the late 19th century by Lao villagers who crossed the Mekong, later joined by migrants from Vietnam and China, and it grew into a trading hub where both banks exchanged goods, culture and language. When cross-river trade stopped in 1975, the town faded quietly — which is exactly why its teak and timber houses survived. Rediscovered by Thai travellers in the early 21st century, it now welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors a year, yet keeps a genuinely sleepy soul on weekday mornings. Photo: Christophe95, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons The Walking St...