Further out

Trip Start Jun 05, 2007
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Trip End Jan 06, 2009


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Where I stayed
Somebody's House
(Nan hotels)

Flag of Thailand  , Nan,
Wednesday, July 23, 2008

So, Chiang Mai was as full of tourists, as Nan was empty of them.  We arrived late in the evening, which in Nan, means around 8 PM.  We took a pickup over to our guesthouse, and he pulled up in front of a very dimly lit place, well, a house really.  We weren't sure when he started calling out to someone if this was our place or if he had made a pit stop to call in on one of his buddies.  But sure enough, out came the lady to welcome us and give us a room.  When we booked into the register we noticed that the last people that stayed here were here a month prior.

Our place in Chiang Mai had been too loud, with bad cover bands turning out Bob Marley, Sublime, Oasis, UB-40, and anything else you might like, all night long.  This place was so quiet you heard the mosquitoes a mile off.  We woke up in the morning to a free map, and free bicycles, and set out about the town exploring all the temples and such Surrounded by hills
Surrounded by hills
 .  Nan, it turns out, is a happening little town.  It is just way out off the main track, and nobody really comes over here.  But the town itself is full of character, and every meal we ate was absolutely fantastic.  All day we just biked around, here and there.  We came back for a lazy afternoon, and really enjoyed reading and writing in our neat little room.  Early dinner, and early bedtime, Nan, as I said before, is a quiet little town. 

The next day we took a motor bike and zoomed all around the surrounding villages.  What beautiful countryside it is up here.  Long rolling green hillsides, dotted with many conical hats tending to the evergrowing rice paddies.  Water buffalo munching along side the road.  Chickens standing guard right in the center of the road.  We stopped out at an Akha village, and saw the famous temple out there, and then talked to the ladies who do the weaving in town.  Ended up buying a really beautiful sarong, made right there.  It's nice to the hand the money to the person who is making it.  We lunched by the river, whole fried fish, and listen to the chatter of some drunken business people out for a company lunch.  Not that we understood anything.  The rest of the day we spent winding our way back, getting lost, and riding 60 km out of the way, through the rain, and almost running out of petrol on the last stretch.  But we made it, and got out for some nice warm Tom Yum with shrimp for dinner to revive us.
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