1 hour ago, bignok said:

No love for Ubon?

Been there a few times, but apparently before 2012, as no G location mark, at least on that phone/ID/account, as had more than a few.

 

I've done most of Isan and east coast, beyond Rayong to Cambo border.

 

Use to have the wife ferry over to Laos, from Nakhon Phanom for a Bailey's restock when there.  Visited the original Uncle Ho house, with original coconut tree that he planted still there ???? vs that fake replica of Uncle Ho's house at Udon Thani ... blasphemy I tell you.

 

Ubon never did nothing for me, Nakhon Phanom & That Phanom were good for a visit, and chill riverside.

 

 

42 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Been there a few times, but apparently before 2012, as no G location mark, at least on that phone/ID/account, as had more than a few.

 

I've done most of Isan and east coast, beyond Rayong to Cambo border.

 

Use to have the wife ferry over to Laos, from Nakhon Phanom for a Bailey's restock when there.  Visited the original Uncle Ho house, with original coconut tree that he planted still there ???? vs that fake replica of Uncle Ho's house at Udon Thani ... blasphemy I tell you.

 

Ubon never did nothing for me, Nakhon Phanom & That Phanom were good for a visit, and chill riverside.

 

 

Im going to Loei and Korat soon.

11 minutes ago, bignok said:

Im going to Loei and Korat soon.

Headed somewhere soon ourselves, undecided though.  Nong Bua LamPhu come July, but want to go somewhere S before that.  Waiting for some rain actually, so a bit greener, and clearer skies, though skies (blue & cloudy) quite nice now locally.

 

Love rainy season, in between the rains.

 

 

24 minutes ago, bignok said:

Im going to Loei and Korat soon.

Khao Yai Art Museum, Pak Chong area, was interestingly different, if in the area.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Khao+Yai+Art+Museum/@14.5961804,101.3283344,20677m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x311c321d533d6e5b:0xffa4217c0d50d043!8m2!3d14.5531545!4d101.433381!16s%2Fg%2F12q4v3875

 

And a winery may interest, though harvest season is Feb. so don't expect much in the vineyard.  Again, only if near by:

Alcidini Winery

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alcidini+Winery/@14.5434865,101.5999862,666m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x311c3b4561e8e2d5:0xa974f1f8820d8ef!8m2!3d14.5434813!4d101.6025665!16s%2Fg%2F1hc76gfj4

45 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Khao Yai Art Museum, Pak Chong area, was interestingly different, if in the area.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Khao+Yai+Art+Museum/@14.5961804,101.3283344,20677m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x311c321d533d6e5b:0xffa4217c0d50d043!8m2!3d14.5531545!4d101.433381!16s%2Fg%2F12q4v3875

 

And a winery may interest, though harvest season is Feb. so don't expect much in the vineyard.  Again, only if near by:

Alcidini Winery

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alcidini+Winery/@14.5434865,101.5999862,666m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x311c3b4561e8e2d5:0xa974f1f8820d8ef!8m2!3d14.5434813!4d101.6025665!16s%2Fg%2F1hc76gfj4

Mrs is temple mad. So Phanom Rung plus any temple on a hill in Loei.

1 hour ago, bignok said:

Mrs is temple mad. So Phanom Rung plus any temple on a hill in Loei.

PhiMai is a nice little town, and the Khmer ruins there are quite nice, though dwarfed by Phanom Rung.  The museum part, if still there, was along the road into town off hwy#2, and should stop there first.  PhiMai actually quite close hwy#2.

 

If you go to a lot of the Khmer ruins / museums dotted around the country, you'll notice (the fine print) many, most of the artifacts are from PhiMai area & Phanom Rung area sites.

 

Prasat Muang Singh Khmer temple in Kanchanaburi, was rather nice also.

 

Three of the better (only) ones I've visited.

 

Ban Chiang, Udon Thani is also nice, and try to go there during the yearly festival.  Quite the archeological find, and had to rewrite the history books with that find.  Pre-dates other finds, concerning manufacture and use of metals

My next nowheresville trip will be to Nan, via a northbound boat from Luang Prubang (mostly empty going north).

 

The area between the boat drop off at Pak Beng to the border with Nan has a lot teak and cartoony-mural temples. Call it a leisurely day to the border, then a waiting sonthew into sizzling downtown Nan.

 

I've done this boat ride at least 6 times, the first day of it from Luang Prubang is more jungle-ish than the second, which then drops you off a couple of hours from Chiang Rai. Or near The Gibbon Experience -where you suspect it's a Lao person moving that branch off in the distance, not a gibbon.

 

In the super-rainy season, you can go all the way to the top of the country on the river, but that involves staying over night in villages (bring Pringles in case you don't like dinner). Akha villages, first time I'd seen an Akha person not scraping a wooden frog at the Chiang Mai night market.

 

Lovely people, love their chicken soup. They have the real opium brown goo. Tip 'em a fiver, bring a couple of Bic lighters as a gift. They love Bic. They're more into the moonshine.

 

Rainy days, sleeping on a hard mat under a mosquito net, bad food -those kinds of touring days are gone for good, and certainly veto'd by my wife.

 

Call it 2 dining-days in Vientiane, 4 days in Luang Prubang, 4 days for the boat, border tour, and Nan-chill. And then the day-long, very Mountain-scenic bus ride back to Chiang Mai.

 

5 travel in motion days out of 11 is def pushing my wife's comfort zone a bit.

 

 

On 5/17/2023 at 12:48 AM, bignok said:

Pai no 1 in this list.

how come i've never seen anyone create a thread about Pai on this forum?

 

I did a Pai mega-post elsewhere. Search for my semi-current Pai Recco's. I'm a fan.

 

Insider tip: the old ladies by the wat are dishing out quality all you can eat for 40 baht. They're gone by 11 AM. At the latest..

Candle festival 2 August in Ubon is charming. Can go to temples and surrounds in days leading up and see people busily preparing the bits and pieces to go on the huge wax structures. Big parade probably happiest and most natural I have seen Thai people. 

For me number one is Prachuap Kiri Khan.

Easy; Patts, Pa-Tong, Nana Plaza BKK, yep Culture - Welcome Welcome...

I wish Ubon Joe was around to chime in on this topic <3.

 

That said, Kaeng Krachan sticks out for me on the list -- can be pretty decent.

Bring some of that Citronella or other anti-Mosquito spray if you go.

 

 

On 5/17/2023 at 2:55 PM, Stocky said:

Songkhla Old Town

Agree.  My partner and I visited recently.

When I lived in Surin forty years ago a friend fron UK visited me. I took him into town and his first words were "Charming, just effin charming."

32 minutes ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

When I lived in Surin forty years ago a friend fron UK visited me. I took him into town and his first words were "Charming, just effin charming."

40 years ago

2 hours ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

When I lived in Surin forty years ago a friend fron UK visited me. I took him into town and his first words were "Charming, just effin charming."

Surin?  LOL......555

23 hours ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

When I lived in Surin forty years ago a friend fron UK visited me. I took him into town and his first words were "Charming, just effin charming."

.......and still [in many ways] very Surin Khmer.