Phapu Cave & Monkeys ~ Loei

There’s nothing like seeing monkeys in the wild!

While I was visiting Loei province in early May, 2015, our guide asked if there was anything near Loei City we wanted to see. I asked to see the Phapu Caves, partly because I love caves, but partly because I love seeing monkeys in the wild, and there are lots of them here. It’s also one of the very few interesting things in the vicinity of Loei City. The cave itself is kind of interesting, and inside there are several Buddha statues, 2 of which are completely un-illuminated.

Visiting Loei City & The Loei Palace Hotel

Flying on Nok Air – Bangkok to Loei

The quickest way to get to Loei province from Bangkok is to fly. If you drive you’re looking at about a 9 hour trip. Nok Air, one of Thailand’s best low cost carriers, flies to Loei using small prop planes. I haven’t been on a prop plane in years but they’re fine and we all got there in one piece. Once you land you are closest to Loei City itself, and that is where we stayed for one evening.

Loei Province ~ An Introduction

Me with Phi Ta Kon expert mask maker Apichart Kamkasem, in his workshop in Dan Sai.

During the first weekend of May, 2015, I spent 4 days and 3 nights in Loei Province in Thailand. It’s one of the least populated provinces in the the country, and sits right up against the Laos border — along the Mekong River. One of the highlights of this trip was learning about the Phi Ta Kon annual festival, in which participants wear colourful and grotesque monster masks. And if you visit the city of Dan Sai, you won’t be able to escape all the branding the city has done to let you know that it is home to the annual Phi Ta Kon festival. Masks and mask related decor is everywhere.