Today’s visa run / travel with a specific purpose didn’t look to have much to see…
Part of Bokeo Province in Laos, the main reason people come to Huay Xai (also spelled Houay Xai, Huay Sai, and Houay Sai) is the mostly painless visa run from northern Thailand. Once every 90 days, we needed to leave Thailand and re-enter to comply with the visa rules. If you need to do that, and are looking for a place to do it… there’s really no reason to choose this one, except that it was about as far north in Thailand as you can get. If coming from Chiang Rai or the Golden Triangle area, this is a decent place to do it.
I’d love to find the person in Laos that’s constantly dropping playing cards around tourist destinations. That must be a fun job — and it’s the sort of thing that’s just so… random…
Fort Carnot – an old French fort
Built by the French around 1900 after Laos became part of the French Indochina region, calling it a fort is almost a misnomer. From everything I’ve read online, there was almost no military action here, no intrigue of any kind, and only a handful of military personnel were stationed here. Wherever the hot spots were in French Indochina, this fort was far away from them.
According to a sign found outside the entrance, the Laos government took 6 months and almost $116,000 USD to fix this place up in 2011. Laos being a former French colony and all, having a fort along the busy river makes sense. There’s no information on the site itself, however.
The good news: the site is mostly walkable, with few fences or barriers to get in your way. You’ll have to be willing to walk through the weeds and such, but perhaps that’s a sign of how untrodden the beaten path is.
On some level it looks like a great place to shoot a post-apocalyptic movie, complete with the trees and shrubbery growing around every corner.
A good portion of the original wall still remains — if it’s been reconstructed they’ve done a great job.
The main lookout tower, complete with an ample amount of foliage. The inside has been fixed up to allow tourists the chance to take in the view. This view’s not meant to be the scenic one, but the window for shooting arrows or guns at incoming enemies.
Now this is the view you came for. That’s Thailand and the Mekong River in the backdrop, along with a bit of the local village.
Let’s call this the tourist attraction you see because you’re already here. It’s a pleasant and easy walk from the touristy drag, and easy enough to find without needing to ask directions. Try coming here on a Sunday and there’s a fair chance you’ll be the only people around.
Now, to a hell(ish) temple…
It’s not as hellish as previous hell temples, so it doesn’t need a not-safe-for-work tag or warning. Spelled Vat Keophon Savanthanaram on site, the temple is essentially the only other tourist attraction reachable on foot (if you’re so inclined, a small market is also around, but we didn’t go looking for it).
There’s no indication of why the main hall exhibits the rather gruesome tortures depicted in statues elsewhere, (for one example, see my post about Wat Mae Kaet Noi temple — WARNING: NSFW!)
Lots of beheading and poking and prodding…
Waiting in judgement, the hot pot, and the Buddha above all.
The prickly tree is a common punishment — climbing naked, of course.
It’s not all pain and blood and nudity, of course — find your peace while you’re here. In fact, you might not even see another person here.
Like the former French fort, it’s a tourist attraction you see because you’re already here. Neither of these are reasons to come here Check it out before heading back to Thailand, or head on to explore a bit more.
Name: Fort Carnot
Address: unnamed side street, see directions or use GPS (GPS: 20.271487,100.415273)
Directions: From where you arrive at Huay Xai, clear Immigration and walk up the hill. Take a right, walk 500 meters, and look for a pair of side street on your left. Bear left and walk up the hill. Walk about 300 meters, and as the road curves to the left, look left for the fort’s entrance.
Hours: no signage around, but also no artificial lighting.
Admission: free
Phone: none
Website: none
Name: Wat Keophone Savanthanaram
Address: near the Kaysone Monument (GPS: 20.266837,100.416808)
Directions: from your entrance into Huay Xai, pass through Immigration and walk up the hill. Take a right onto the touristy drag, then walk a little over a kilometer along the Mekong River. The road will bend a bit to the left — you’ll be looking for the first left turn after the bend, just past the Agricultural Promotion Bank. Walk 150 meters and turn right, then walk up the temple steps for the entrance.
Hours: none specified (likely, early morning to early evening)
Admission: free
Phone: none
Website: none
