On a road trip to North Thailand, I explored few less popular places. Nan is a small town which is only popular mainly among local tourists. It is famous for its hilltop temple with a Standing Budddha statue overlooking the city, Wat Phra That Khao Noi. Another instagrammable spot is Nan National Musuem with its photogenic Frangipani Tunnel. My ultimate destination on 1st day was Pua, about 1 hour away from Nan, a village enthralled with scenic paddy fields and hill view as backdrop.
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| Wat Phra That Khao Noi |
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| Frangipani Tunnel |
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| Nan National Musuem |
Upon reaching Pua, we headed to a local restaurant called Baan Hua Nam Mushroom Farm with a green mountain valley view for lunch. The next stop was Ban Tai Lue Coffee Shop, a cafe cum silk production cottage factory with pictured paddy field and wooden walkway to savour the surrounding greeneries.
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| View from Baan Hua Nam Mushroom Farm |
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| Mini koi farm in the restaurant |
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| Ban Tai Lue Cafe |
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| The walkway of the cafe |
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| Paddy field behind the cafe |
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| The silk hanging in the cafe |
After checking into the hostel, I walked around the village. The quaint village with a Thai temple provided a serene feeling to explore on foot.
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| A mini temple in the village |
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| Serenity |
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| Reflection |
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| Planting crops at the backyard |
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| Nostalgic |
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| Our guesthouse on 1st night in Pua |
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| Mini cottage silk production at the guesthouse |
Our true adventure began the next day, when we drove 2-3 hours away through the winding and narrow mountainous road to the mountain ranges area near the Laos border. We passed through Doi Phu Ka National Park and dropped by at the campsite viewpoint and the highest point along the highway, 1715 viewpoint for a stunning bird’s eye view of the mountain ranges.
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| Doi Phu Kha National Park campsite |
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| View from campsite |
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Mesmerising |
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| Bo Kluea salt production |
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| Salt for sale |
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| Extracting salty water from the well |
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| Sapan Waterfalls |
We explored further deeper in the village. The road uphill is only fit for one car at a time with hillslope on one side and ravine on the other.. However, it was worth the adventurous ride to the spectacular viewpoint with surrounding green paddy fields below.
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| Sapan Village Viewpoint |
Later we drove further and further along the main road called Sky Road but the place felt more and more remote, even though it was a big loop. Hence, we decided to turn back and followed the same road back to Pua.
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| Sky Road connecting Pua-Sakad |
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| Exploring main Sky Road |
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| View from Sky Road |
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| Serene outskirt scenery |
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| Village view along main road from Bo Kluea to Pua via Doi Phu Kha National Park |
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| Narrow and windy journey |
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| Our guesthouse on 2nd and last night in Pua |