Prap Ho Monument

The Prap Ho Monument stands on Prachaksinlapakhom Road in Nong Khai, in front of the town’s former provincial office, honouring the Thai and Lao fighters killed suppressing Haw raiders in 1886. “Prap Ho” translates roughly as “defeat of the Haw” — the Haw were Yunnanese Chinese rebel bands who crossed into what’s now northeastern Thailand through the 1870s and 1880s as Qing authority weakened, raiding towns along the Mekong until Siamese and Lao forces pushed them back in a decisive 1886 campaign.

The monument itself was built on the order of Luang Prachaksinlapakhom, the commander who led that campaign, and the cremated remains of those who died in it are kept inside the structure — making it a memorial in the literal sense, not just a symbolic marker. Bronze plaques around the base set out the history in Thai and English, and the surrounding grounds are planted with shade trees that make the small plaza a genuinely pleasant stop rather than a drive-by photo op.

Outside festival dates, the monument sees a steady trickle of local visitors rather than tour groups, and mornings and late afternoons are the most comfortable times to walk the grounds given how hot Isan gets at midday. It’s an easy add-on to a walk through central Nong Khai — Wat Pho Chai is a short tuk-tuk ride away, and Ta Sadet Market on the Mekong riverside makes a natural next stop if you’re spending a full day in the area.

Watch out: There’s no dedicated parking at the monument itself; street parking nearby is limited, so arriving on foot or by songthaew from a central hotel is the easier option.