Travel Tips : Escape the crowds and travel in Nan province

Wat Phumin in Nan - Thailand
Wat Phumin in Nan - Thailand

Some say "Once you have discovered paradise, kiss it goodbye". And guide books are great but thousands of people are reading & using them and with that 90% of people traveling make the same Mae Hong Son loop, visit the Doi Suthep, go to Doi Inthanon National Park and go eat in that famous restaurant. But If you are looking for a somewhat off the beaten track place to escape the crowds then have a look at my Destination Travel Guide Nan.

A province tucked away in the most eastern part of North Thailand, once a sleepy off-limit area, what is still one of the most remote & off the beaten track province's of Thailand, where nature blends well with culture and ancient temples. Just 40 years ago Nan was considered a wild region and sometimes even off-limited for traveling. Time has changed however and the some centuries old temples built in Tai Lue architecture style with beautiful murals, green mountains and ethnic minorities are now starting to attract Thai & foreigner tourists. For foreigners it is a bit difficult to travel independently in Nan as all information is in Thai, that is why I made just for the sheer love of traveling and Nan province I made a website in English where hopefully all information about Attraction, Hotels, Restaurants, Transport, etc. can be found. Nan - Thailand where you will still see the real North Thailand slow way of life.

Popular Posts

Travel Tips : Suggested motorbike routes in Nan province

Image
Route 1081 to Bo Klua Motorbike riding in Thailand, especially in North Thailand (Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nan) is becoming popular. Not only for Big Motorbikes but also for scooters and even some people do the same routes by bicycle ! So in a serie Suggested Motorbike Routes I will show you some great routes to ride. Some people will ride routes like this in 1 day but you could also do it slow and take 2 or 3 days (you will see much more). I am now I think motorbike riding for more as 10 years in Thailand, to read my reports of motorbike riding see  Motorbike Trip Reports Nan Province . For more information about Nan province have a look at  Destination Travel Guide Nan . And of course I start this serie with Nan province, one of Thailand's last remote provinces with stunning mountains, waterfalls and National Parks. And paradise for motorbike riding. And because Nan province is so remote the roads are not busy and relatively safe to ride. All trips start in Nan to
Read more

On the motorbike along the famous 1148 from Nan to Chiang Kham

Image
Motorbike trip 2017. With the cool season starting any motorbike rider in Thailand will feel the urge to go riding. Now  I have been riding a lot in North-Thailand already and I am always looking for new roads. So where to go? And how long? As I do not like planning I only did answer the first question when leaving home at 6:30 in the cool and foggy morning ..... first day to Chiang Kham via the famous route 1148. For more motorbike trip reports see  Motorbike Trip Reports. Day 1 from Tha Wang Pha to Chiang Kham As I thought to have an almost full tank of gasoline I did straight hit route 1148 from Tha Wang Pha. While riding to Song Kwae I noticed that I actually had far from an almost full tank of gasoline. So I stopped at the brand new gasoline station just before Song Kwae. Good toilets and even a coffee shop (albeit it was still closed). A bit after Song Kwae I made my first side-track to a waterfall, it was a nice and good road into the mountains, passing a few very small h
Read more

Stone carved lintel at Prasat Phanom Rung in Buriram

Image
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.  
Read more

Destination Travel Guide Nan in North Thailand

Image
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
Read more

Visiting Doi Samer Dao at Sri Nan National Park in Nan

Image
In December 2017 we made a day trip, or should I say night trip, to Doi Samer Dao at Sri Nan National Park. The National Park is just 16km from Na Noi or 66km from Nan town. Sri Nan National Park is famous for 2 things, Doi Samer Dao and Pha Chu (lovers rock). We did go to Doi Samer Dao what is in the cool season a famous place to visit to watch a sunset over Na Noi, watch the stars (dao) at night and in the very early morning see a stunning sunrise over a sea of clouds above the Nan River. For more information about National Parks in Nan, North Thailand have a look HERE . For more information about Nan province have a look at  Destination Travel Guide Nan . As Doi Samer Dao is a major attraction point (for Thai tourists) the National Park enforces a entrance fee of 20 Thai baht per person for Thai people and non-Thai are privileged to pay 5 times more (100 Thai baht). Not that the latter was enforced when I did visit Sri Nan National Park. And you pay 20 Thai baht for your motorbik
Read more

Cooking school in the jungle of Khao Sok

Image
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
Read more

Travel Tips : Loei province Tourist Attractions map

Image
Here a copy of the map of tourist attractions from the TAT of Loei. I can recommend : 03 Have a lunch at Huai Krating lake 05 Visit Wat Tham Pha Pu 14 Walk in the Pha Ngam Rock Garden 16 See sunrise at Phu Kadung National Park 18 Watch wild elephants at Phu Luang Wildlife sanctuary 19 Swim at Pla ba Waterfall 23 Visit Phitakon museum 24 Wat Neramit Wipatsana 25 Phra That Si Song Rak 26 Wat Si Pho Chai Saeng Pa 27 Phu Suan Sai National Park 28 Phu Rua National Park 33 Phra Phut Mongkhon Lilatha Buddha image 35 Visit Kaeng Kud Ku at the Mekong River 36 Ancient wooden houses 39 Wat Phochai Na Pung And although not mentioned : 40. A visit to Na Heao border to Laos 41. Walk in the Erawan Cave
Read more

Visiting the Prasat Hin Phanom Wan in Khorat

Image
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)
Read more

Pit stop at a viewpoint near Ban Sakad

Image
  Our plan was to visit a forest area on the ridge of the mountains near Ban Sakad in Nan province, North Thailand. But the road became too difficult to continue so tried to get to another famous village in the mountains but we did get a flat tyre. So we had to abandon all plans and return to Ban Sakad to have the tyre fixed while we were having lunch. But we will come back soon! In the meanwhile we made a stop at a stunning viewpoint what would make a great camping spot. For more information about Nan province see  Destination Travel Guide Nan .
Read more

On the motorbike to Khao Yai

Image
Motorbike riding in Khao Yai, Thailand Following is a Motorbike Trip Report of 1 day riding in 2011. For more motorbike trip reports in Thailand see  MOTORBIKE TRIP REPORTS . As my wife did wake-up at 5am to prepare food for the monks in the temple I did look out of the window and despite it being the raining season it did look like a bright day to become. So I took a shower, put on my riding-gear and at 6am I was on the bike. Although only a few km along Khao Mai Keauw via route 3240 it is a nice part with brand new asphalt with some curves and early in the morning not much traffic. From there I took a left onto route 331 and did drive in direction to Kabinburi over the 331 and 304. This route is a bit busy and really a pleasure to drive. About 1 km before the 304 hits the 33 I made a kind of breakfast stop for both me and the bike at a good PTT gasoline station. After Kabinburi riding starts to be bit more pleasure when you are starting to go into the mountains, now riding in di
Read more