Huai Pa Sak

Our drive from Nan to the sandstone formations Sao Din Na Noi took us along several rural roads and along rice fields in every possible stage of cultivation, from the shimmering ponds of silvery water aiting for the fresh plants to the last stubble of rice straw waiting to be burnt to make way for the new crops.

We paid 100 baht entrance fees each and 30 for the car, which was well worth it if only for the use of the clean toilets. The area reminded us of Death Valley in miniature and the air was similarly hot and dry. We could not have had better light and wandered around for around 40 minutes mesmerised, taking pictures.

From here we chose a strenuous drive through the Kuhn Satan National Park, which took us through some magnificent jungle forest again.
Here we found enormous bushes of poinsettia. The views across the hills were fantastic.

Finally we arrived at the Pha Muang Phi Forest Park, where more strange formations known as ghost pillars can be visited. We had the good fortune to meet a family with two Buddhist monks in their wake and one in them was all for having a photo taken with us.

Phrae is an exceptionally quiet city and our boutique hotel, its leafy grounds set between two temples in a very tranquil street, is conveniently situated in the old town within the city walls. It was too hot to explore, so we made for the night market to see if we could have a beer somewhere.

The night market area was not quite what we were looking for, but we happened to find a quirky restaurant with tables and chairs fashioned from old trees and ordered a Chang beer. They were offering barbecue meals to cook on gas ovens on your table, so we decided to give it a try and were pleasantly surprised. A couple sitting at a table nearby who we stopped to chat to presented us with a bag of small donuts purchased from the night market.

Like the Thais, we had been up relatively early, had dinner early too and were ready to go to bed very soon.Read more