Ban Houei Sai ( or Huay Xay ) is the border town with Thailand, the city is busy and prosperous.The most lucrative occupation in Bokeo is gold panning and digging for precious stones, where you can see at Ban Nam Khok (The Lu village), 6 km from the town and Ban Houei Sala (The Hmong village), it's around 18 km far from the town of Houei sai.Getting there Buses run between Houei sai Sai, Luang Prabang, Udomxai and Luang Namtha. Lao Aviation flies to and from Luang Prabang, Udomxai, Luang Namtha and Vientiane. Lao Aviation's domestic timetable.Slow boats travel between Luang Prabang and Houei Sai via Pakbeng. Taking a slow boat is an adventure for seasoned travellers only. Speed boats run on the same routes but will take just a few hours - you will pay accordingly. The journey is fast and furious and not for the faint of heart.

Golden Triangle
     Located about 80 km to the North-west of Houei sai. Visitors can see the beautiful panorama of the border areas of Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.
Forespace
Forespace is a new National Tourism Authority Bokeo province and French private investment venture. This ecotourism project, in the Nam Kan pretected area will be a major international attraction for visitors and will provice one of the longest, most interesting forest canopy walks in the world. There are ten walkways planned along with bungalows and an information centre.

Located in the center of Houei Say is Chomkao Manilat temple. The view from the the temple hill over Houei sai city,the Mekong river and surrounding mountains is a definite reward for making it up the many steps. At Ban Namkeung Kout, Ban Namkeung Mai and Ban Done Deng, it's 26 km far from the center of Houixay town to the north where you can visit the traditional Lu village, who came originally from Muang Sing, Luang Namtha. The villages can be reached by boat trip, upstream from Houei sai.

    The archaeological finds attest that the major part of the site dates from the are of Nakhorn Xieng Saen. King Setthathirath founded the city on both sides of the Mekong River with its centre on the left bank on the vary location of present Ton Pheung. The city was destroyed during an aggression by the Burmese armies, under the reign of King Setthathirath which led to the occupation of Lan Na and its ensuing separation from Lan Xang.

   Following a small mountain range which stretches from north to south on the west of the ruined city there is a deep ditch, over 10 meters wide, which stretches to the bank of the Mekong River with a high dyke - road on its easten flank, which is the western side of the city. That, evidently, is the city’s defence system, the rampart against armies of elephants, horses and soldiers of the agressors.

The annals of Nakhorn Yonok, as well as the annals of Li Phi by Tiao Khammanh Vongkot Rattana spoivide the following: King Sirivongsa, the ruler of Nakhorn Phothisarn Luang ( Gottapura or Nakhorn Khottaboun or Sikhottabong, presently Thakhek ) had two sons. The eldest was named Inthravongsa and the youngest Ayakoumarn, After the death of the king, the eldest son ascended the throne while the youngest became Maha Uparaj (Viceroi), Inthravongsa had a son, Phanya Inthapathom, and the youngest, Ayakoumarn, had a daughter, Nang Urasa. The two cousins married. When King Inthravongsa died his son Phanya Inthrapathom succeeded him on the throne.

    Phanya Ayakoumarn, who was at the same time his uncle and father-in law, resigned his Viceroi position and , with his retinue, undertook a journey up the Mekong River which lasted three months before he arrived on an island named Koh Kheun, located on the left side of the mouth of the Kok River. Phanya Ayakoumarn decided to install his city on that island. His city was composed initially of 3,000 households

    He then received a good news: his daughter gave birth to a son who was endowed with super natural powers. But since his birth, extraordinary things occurred in the palace of Gottapura (Khottaboun), which scared the palace officials and the people who feared that evil things could happen that might annihilate the city.

 
   When the palace officials expressed their fear to the King, the latter decided to put the queen and his son on a raft and float them down the river. When King Ayakoumane learnt of this he was terribly upset. He ordered his people to make offering of candles and lamps to Phanya Nak, thus illuminating the whole Mekong River during seven days seven nights, to request the mighty Naga to save the life of the queen and the little prince and prevent them from arriving to the sea. According to the annals, Phanya Nak created Li Phi and made appear the Khinak island to obstruct the Mekong River thus compelling the raft of the queen and the little prince to turn around and float up the river to Koh Kheun. This is the origin of the tradition of Lai Heua Fai, which consists in floating small boats with lamps or candles and incense sticks on the river, a tradition which had lived on until nowadays. And for this reason, the newly settled community on Koh Kheun was called Souvannakhomkham, which derived from the name of the little prince, Souvanna Moukhuan, and the name of the ceremony of lighting up lamps, called Khomkham.

     When was Souvannakhomkham founded and what was the origin of the rulers of Phothisarn Luang? According to the annals of Sri Lanka mentioned in the 19th century by Francis Garnier in his book Exploration of the Mekong River, Souvannakhomkham appeared in the fifth century AD and, according to the annals of the World Deluge which mentioned Phanya Sisattanak who ruled over the city of Nongkassae Saen Nyan, conducted seven billion (?) troops down the Mekong River gave birth to the 15 Naga families tn Luang Prabang. Latter, the people of Phothisarn (Sikhottabong or Gottapura) were Krom.

     The book says further that Souvannakhomkham developed rapidly. In only three years the number of households reached 100,000.
Later, Souvannakhomkham had a negative attitude towards traders who were Naga of Luang Prabang which gave way to disputes. The people of Luang Prabang sent their armies to attack Souvannakhomkham which they rased to the ground and its population was dispersed. Some went to Luang Prabang where they brought with them the tradithon of Lai Heua Fai, a tradition which is still implemented today.

    Later a Naga family of the Lao Chok or Lao from the north Xieng Hai rebuilt Souvannakhomkham and surrounded it on its four sides with a rampart, each side measuring 3,000 var (extened arms’ span). The city was renamed Nakhenthra Nakhorn or Ndkhaburi or Nakhaphanthusinghonvat Nakhorn or Nakhorn Xieng Lao as it was buit by Lao people of the north (Naga). Beside those different names, in the various annals of the northern Lao peple and the epics Thao Hung Thao Cheuang, another name was mentioned: Nakhorn Ngeun Nyang or Ngeun Nyuang. Later, when Phanya Saen Phou ruled the city, it was called Xieng Saen (ancient)

Forty-three kings of the lao Chok dynasty ruled over Nakhorn Xieng Lao or Nakhaburi or Nakhorn Ngeun Nyang before khun Cheuang ascended the throne. He was the first Lao king to unite the ethic groups in the northern kingdom in 1096 AD. Khun Cheuang led an army to conquer Luang Prabang, Xieng Khuang and Pakan (Bac kan, Principality of Kieo Chi, Vietnam), which he built into a united kingdom especially among the Naga and the Krom. He can be considered as a great king on the mullti-ethnic Lao nation. The kingdom of Khun Cheuang collapsed after four reigns of Luang Prabang rulers such as the reigns of Khun Kan Hang, a great grand child of Khun Cheuang, who was defeated by the armies of Khun Lor who came from Meuang Lum or Meuang Thaeng (pressenty Dien Bien Phu).

Souvannakhomkham which is the initial name of the city has been destroyed and rebuilt several times with several names before it became the present time’s ruins, with a few traces which are quite moving.    The Cultural Service of Bokeo province and the Ministry of Information and Culture have taken measures to conserve the place and declare it a nation archaeological site, a preserved area and a park for research and khowledge, a tourist destination and a place for relaxation for researchers, acholars and amateurs of antiquities. Where ancient culture is preserved and beautiful nature is conserved.     Not far from the archaeological site there are many things attractive to visitors such as not water springs with rich properties, rare essence wood, ancient vestiges in the Golden Triangle, the Khuhar caves and the way of life of various ethnic group. Beside those, at the end of Buddhist Lent, the Lai Heua Fai in homage to the Naga is observed at the vary place where the tradition was born. And at the season when kapok flowers bloom, visitors can participate in the Kapok Flower Festival. There is nowhere else like this.