Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting Around
Rides with
Taxi Mukdahan
(
6am-midnight)
start at 30B plus a 20B call fee, if
0 4261 3666;
the driver uses the meter.
Goodmook* restaurant hires bikes for 100B per day.
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Phu Pha Thoep National Park
Despite only covering 48 sq km, hilly
Phu Pha Thoep National Park
( 08 9619 7741; admission
100B)
has a host of beautiful attractions; most famously large mushroom-shaped rock form-
ations. The main rock groups sits right behind the visitor centre, and wildflowers bloom
around them October through December. Besides the weird rocks there are several clifftop
viewpoints and
Nam Tok Phu Tham Phra
, a scenic waterfall (May to November only) with a
grotto atop it holding hundreds of small Buddha images. It only takes a few hours on the
well-marked trails to see all these sights.
Tham Fa Mue Daeng
, a cave with 5000-year-old
hand paintings, is an 8km drive from the main park area and then a 1.5km walk.
For accommodation, there's
camping
(per person with own tent 30B, 4-/8-person tent hire 300/600B)
and
The park is 15km south of Mukdahan via Rte 2034.
Sŏrng·tăa·ou
(20B, 30 minutes,
every 30 minutes) to Don Tan, departing from Porn Pet Market, 300m north of Hor Kaew
Mukdahan, pass the turn-off to the park. Hitching the last 1.3km to the visitor centre isn't
tough, or you can ask the
sŏrng·tăa·ou
driver to detour off their route and take you; they'll
probably do it for 100B. Be back at the junction by 4.30pm to guarantee finding a
sŏrng·tăa·ou
back to town.
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North along the Mekong
Travelling north along the Mekong offers a lovely look at village life and makes a fantast-
ic bike trip. Leaving the city on Samranchaikong Rd you'll follow a long line of fish
farms for 6km before ducking under the 1.6km-long
Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge 2
. At this
point you can get off the main road and use the tiny, mostly paved roads closer to the
