Waking up to the view we woke up to is a treat! And we had breakfast at the hotel today too. Not a very good breakfast, true, but it included coffee and tea, mandarin juice, and fried egg and toast, so better than nothing. Besides, we ate on the main balcony overlooking the view! And once we left the B&B our first stop of the day was hour long Thai massage in Nan. Just what the doctor ordered! We got rubbed and pounded, twisted and kneaded and totally relaxed. Oh, that felt good!
A short drive from there took us to Wat Phrathat Khao Noi, located on the top of a small hill just west of Nan and overlooking the town. Besides the golden Buddha looking over the town, there are several trees where people hang lanterns and bells, each with a hand written blessing or wish. Kind of like putting a note in the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.
Our next destination is Doi Phu Nang National Park, home to some pretty waterfalls and the endemic Green Peafowl. Quite a long way over the mountains. We hoped to stop and get something to eat on the way
but found nothing but fantastic views. Fortunately we had a few bananas with us. I find that I actually enjoy driving on these roads. Both the twisting, winding roads in the mountains and the small narrow lanes in the villages, seeing how the local farmers live.
As we neared the park we drove by some fields of tall plants with bright yellow flowers in the legume family, but I have no clue what they are!
We made it to the park, and for the first time since we landed in Thailand we were asked for our vaccination papers! How odd! Good thing I have them on hand. We paid, parked and went for a walk. Again we had the whole park to ourselves, and an easy walk found us in the jungle by the rapids of the Mae Pang river. Lots of little waterfalls and rapids and small creeks flowing into the main stream, and all quite lovely. There were a few information boards in the park explaining about some of the trees and such, in Thai and bad English, but we got the gist of it. Just walking in the forest, wading in the cool water with
After enjoying the stream we took a short nature walk in the forest, hopefully to get lucky and see the Green Peafowl, but no luck. So we returned to the car for the drive to Payao.
As we were driving through one of the villages along the highway, Gilat mentioned she could really do with a banana roti right about now, and just then I spotted a roti stall, and was going slow enough to stop in time! So we got one, and it didnt disappoint! Fried pastry with lots of butter, egg, sliced banana and concentrated milk. Totally decadent but so delicious! And along with the coffee we got from the adjacent stall it kept us going all the way to Payao.
We reached the hotel, signed in, and before even going up to our room we went to the local evening food market that we saw as we drove in to town. On the way we crossed the towns Health Garden, a city park by the lake where people dance, play various sports, give massages and dance. Gilat tried to join in one of the dances
Lucky we went when we did, when we got to the market a few of the stalls were already closing for the night! We wandered around, got some skewered meat (yummy), fresh cut pineapple for tomorrow morning, some papaya salad, a steamed coconut dessert, and sea grapes (a type of seaweed) with hot sauce - wed never had that before so we got some to try. And it was all delicious! Thai food, as Ive mentioned before, is very good. Especially if you like spicy food.
We got back to the hotel after another days adventure, ready for bed. Tomorrow will see us in Chiang Rai.
