Day #156: Chiang Saen old city and River Border

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Ciang Saen is a small, sleepy town in the far north of Thailand. Its main attraction is that it sits on the Mekong river at the point where the river divides Thailand from Laos, with sweeping views over the river to the Laotian sandbar (locals can cross the border freely, but tourists have to go to Sop Ruak). The river is busy all day with trawlers, ferries and cargo boats and I saw men fishing with huge nets affixed to canes which they sweep in the water. Watching the sunset, which gives the entire river a pink hue, was one of the most beautiful sights I have seen on this trip.

In the past Chiang Saen was of strategic importance and was a battle site when the borders between Burma and Thailand were being disputed a few centuries ago. The city walls and the ruins of some old temples are still visible and I walked the circuit around the walls before buying a fish cooked on a kebab stick for tea.

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