Staying at Santepheap Hotel in Kratie, Cambodia

Santepheap Hotel in Kratie, Cambodia
Santepheap Hotel in Kratie, Cambodia

 Dec'2012 Santepheap Hotel is a 80 years old French house that 20 years ago was rebuild as an hotel. On the outside totally destroyed but at the inside you can still see that this was once a beautiful house. It is located right along the boulevard of the Mekong river. The rooms are simple and basic but they have airco, fridge, private bathroom with warm water. And that all for 18us$ (without breakfast).
🌍 Sambour, Cambodia

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Travel Tips : Suggested motorbike routes in Nan province

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About accommodation in Nan town

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Although Nan province is (luckily) not as much visited by tourists as example  Chiang Mai , there is a good  variety of accommodation all over Nan province. Currently there are quite a few new Guesthouses, Homestay's and Hotels being openend in  Nan town  and  Pua . As said Nan province is not busy tourists like Chiang Mai but during Public Holidays / Long Weekends (especially during the cool season) many Thai people will find their way to Nan province. During those days it might be a good idea to make a reservation in advance. Be aware that when using booking websites like   Booking, Agoda or Airbnb.  t hat the term "Nan suburbs" could mean the hotel is in Pua, what is 60 km north of Nan town. Not really a suburb!  As Nan province is not (yet) a tourist destination for foreigners you might experience that staff at your accommodation is not or limited able to speak English. Not all accommodation in Nan province can be booked via Agoda or Booking. Some accommodation do not
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Destination Travel Guide Nan in North Thailand

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Welcome to Nan province in North Thailand where live is still slow and tranquil. Nan province is  tucked away in the most eastern part of North Thailand and was once a sleepy province. And even nowadays Nan province is still one of the most remote & off the beaten track province's of Thailand, where nature blends well with culture and ancient temples. In modern times Nan province has an airport, comfortable boutique hotels and trendy coffee shops, along with picturesque villages in the mountains, but 40 years ago Nan was considered a wild region and sometimes even off-limited for traveling. Time has changed however and the centuries old temples built in Tai Lue architecture style with beautiful murals, green mountains and ethnic minorities are now starting to attract Thai tourists and even slowly some foreigner tourists are coming to Nan province. The main destination for visitors of Nan province is its capital Nan town and nearby surroundings. It is however not the only place
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On the motorbike along the famous 1148 from Nan to Chiang Kham

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Stone carved lintel at Prasat Phanom Rung in Buriram

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Stone carved lintel at Prasat Phanom Rung in Buriram, Thailand Reposting from 2016. Since 2000 I have been many times at Prasat Phanom Rung in Buriram, so above photo is probably from 2003. But what a beautiful piece of ancient art! As the Greater Khmer Kingdom once stretched also out over what we now call Thailand there are many ancient Khmer ruins to be found in North-East Thailand. And they are an example of the high standard of cultivation and technical knowledge that was in South-East Asia already hundreds of years ago. Imagine how they build those temples out of huge rocks that had to be transported many km's. Imagine the art and hard work to make this kind of lintel's. Prasat Hin Phanom Rung is located about 60 km south of Buriram  town. For more postings about ancient ruins / temples click below on the label  Ancient-Temples.  
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Visiting Doi Samer Dao at Sri Nan National Park in Nan

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Cooking school in the jungle of Khao Sok

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Cooking at Rungfah Farm Stay at Khao Sok, South Thailand Khao Sok is home to a beautiful limestone mountain range with a tropical jungle and a huge lake and rivers. A great place to go hiking and kayaking. But what to do when it is raining? Well you go for jungle cooking lessons at  Rungfah Farm Stay  what is located in the jungle of Khao Sok. A young local man and his family have setup an ecological farm stay and cooking school. Here you can learn the traditional jungle way of making Thai food. And of course they have 2 very basic bamboo bungalows where you could stay. But we did go for cooking lessons. So we started with walking around at the farm to collect the food that we would be cooking like fresh bamboo sprouts, duck eggs, herbs and vegetables. Then to begin with our host Yu starts to make a small fire to cook the rice in bamboo containers. We did learn how to remove the coconut from the nuts and our coconut curry was cooked on a small BBQ. For everything natural products
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Visiting the Prasat Hin Phanom Wan in Khorat

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Prasat Hin Phanom Wan in Khorat (1998) Reposting from 2016. Photos were taken in 1998 when I did visit Thailand. At that moment there was a restoration project going on (organized & paid by France). This old Khmer temple is located about 10 km north of Khorat city. I did visit it again in 2010 and it now looks much better. Although having seen the restoration work I wonder if it looks now like it was originally build. The Greater Khmer Kingdom did spread all over what we now call Thailand, South Laos, Cambodia and South Vietnam. Most of the ancient Khmer temples can be found in the lower part of the Isaan. And I am trying to visit them all. Prasat Hin Phanom Wan in Khorat, Thailand (1998)
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Travel Tips : Loei province Tourist Attractions map

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Pit stop at a viewpoint near Ban Sakad

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