Checking Out Nan Province

Recently I was invited to join my friends for a road-trip by minivan up North Thailand to Nan Province.

After an absence of traveling in Thailand for almost one year I didn't hesitate, quickly packed a small bag and in no time was back on the road again.

Nan town is pleasant enough but our aim was further north, exploring the mountainous countryside, so we left after one overnight there.

Wooden shacks in early morning fog just outside Nan are usually photogenic enough.

We passed a 'famous' spot for Thai tourists, you can find loads of pics taken here of this '3', which to be honest left me completely cold...

First real stop was at the small village of Bo Kluea, its main attraction being the ancient salt wells.

The salt is sold on the spot.

A look inside the salt water well, quite deep!

Occasionally local temple mural art can vary, therefore I had a quick look at nearby Wat Bo Luang and was lucky, beside the usual Buddhist deities the artist added a few hornbill birds!

The temple dog seems to be doing a good job at guarding the sandals...

A little bit further was another salt well with an old man hauling a bucket of salt water.

This one too was really deep.

After changing transport to a 4WD we visited a Royal Agricultural Development Station high up the mountains.

Various kinds of fruit are being grown here.

Bamboo is used everywhere for constructing fences, gates, roofs, shacks and more.

No lack of fantastic views.

Terraced rice fields are not often seen in Thailand.

Bamboo grows everywhere and the stems can get seriously large!

Early morning water drops.

More than a few large spiders were lurking in their webs among the bamboo stems.

At Bo Yuak the small temple was without any decoration, but a nearby wooden shack featured this religious door painting.

We overnighted at Bo Yuak and met some of the local students the next morning, very polite kids.

Another village, Ban Sapan, is rapidly developing as a popular Thai tourist spot.

A National Park viewpoint.

Besides coffee cocoa is grown in Nan as well and I enjoyed the local chocolate a lot.

Nan's artistic highlight is probably a mural of a whispering couple which can be found everywhere and here is another version at the excellent Nan Riverside Art Gallery. (*)