Nan, Thailand

November 25, 2025 to November 26, 2025

The place we stayed at in Nan was really nice.

Nan, Thailand

We had two really nice full days walking around Nan. Nan is a relatively small town so we never even thought about our bikes the whole time we were there. I was in Nan almost 23 years ago. The two ancient temples (side by side) were bare of paint or any embellishments at all. They were shells with simply a big old Buddha at the back. There were pigeons and pigeon crap inside and out. No one was there and it seemed no one cared about the temples. Just the way I like temples - seeming as though nothing at all had been done to them in hundreds of years except weathering. The grounds, as I remember, were just as neglected - dirt and small stones.

But things have changed with those two temples. A lot had changed. They were all gussied up to the point where I was a bit grossed out. But, nothing remains the same. In fact, that's Buddhism in a nutshell; Impermanence. So, I pretty much had to accept it and I think I did pretty well at acceptance. I enjoyed them especially at night when there were lots of lights directed onto the temples showing them off. If I had been in charge of the temple improvements I would have pushed for new roofs and left it at that and I for sure would have been voted down. Thais today want flash! I'm not flash. Thais today want to do selfies and take photos of their friends posing in outlandishly stupid poses with a backdrop of a seven hundred year old temple with colorful umbrellas lining the walkway leading to the temple. Lights, camera, action! But, like I said, a new roof and call it protected. I've taken maybe four selfies in my life.

The other part of Wat Phra That Chang Khan Worawihan

This looks like two temples but together they make up Wat Phra That Chang Khao Worawihan with one Chedi in the rear.

The Nan National Museum was fantastic when I was in Nan long ago but now......it's even better! I have always said it is the best museum in the country and now it is even better. Apparently a lot of money has been donated and there are lots more interesting exhibits explaining the prehistoric area around Nan to the 64 kings that ruled Nan to the present day and the building that houses the museum which was the residence of the last Nan king who died in 1931. The building alone is quite beautiful but the thing about the Nan Museum that I really love is the large collection of small, old, wooden Buddhas. Thai museums display a couple or maybe a few but the Nan Museum has dozens of nicely carved ones. It's something to think you have seen the ultimate Thai museum in 2003 but to find out that it has actually improved is a happy surprise.

Frangipani lose their leaves in the winter. This row of them is in front of the Nan National Museum.

Three or four months ago the Nan River flooded the entire town with at least one meter deep of muddy water. Remarkably they have recovered and besides a few left over sandbags kicking around there is little evidence that there ever was a flood. Fortunately the museum's first floor is higher than one meter.

We just enjoyed walking around town and didn't do much else while in Nan except to contemplate our next route. We had been planning on riding north and east from Nan to a little-crossed-by-foreigners border crossing to Laos. We were going to ride north from Nan for three days and then cross into Laos but talking with a travel agent about those plans we were given the bad news that foreigners cannot enter Laos with an eVsa or even obtain a visa upon entry at that border crossing. The many times we have entered Laos from all over the place, we have never encountered such rules. It never crossed our minds that such rules existed. We needed a visa obtained at a Lao Consulate beforehand and the nearest Lao Consulate is in Bangkok. Even if we had known, we couldn't have gotten the visa in Chiang Mai where we flew into. It was a big blow to our long-thought-about plans to explore new territory in Thailand as well as Laos.

It meant that if we still wanted to go to Laos we would have to enter at the top of Thailand, from Chiang Khong, Thailand to Huay Xai, Laos where entry is not restricted and a visa upon arrival is the normal thing. That meant that we had to cross some mountains to ride to Chiang Khong.

We thought about not going to Laos, a country we have been to many times. But there is a third dam being built on the Mekong River and when completed the two day boat ride from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang will be a thing of the past. I don't know how many times we have done the boat ride and we both love it so much that we thought we should do it one more time before it is history. We also love Luang Prabang - the loveliest city in Asia in my opinion. Yes, Luang Prabang will be crawling with tourists but is also worth one more visit. We will be happy to experience the boat ride one more time and stay in Luang Prabang for two or three nights, do the things we love to do there and move on. We have some plans south of Luang Prabang where we have never been that look like a big time adventure.

That means we will be heading to the hills northwest of Nan which I'm surprised Andrea thinks will not be that big a deal. I'm glad because I will tackle anything if it is in an area we have never been to.

lovebruce

Galae. They are very common in the northern part of Thailand on the peaks of roofs of houses. They are mostly a decorative element but they also are to ensure good luck.

These flowers were tiny and the bush was very tall. We couldn't even see flowers in the bush itself.

It was hard to figure out just where this so-called bike lane was.

I want one of the brooms on the right. Less than a dollar too!

Lottery fever take over of one of the corners of the center of town.

Various types of ready made curry paste.

I love shops like this. On a bike you can't really buy anything. And Thailand isn't shipping anything to the U.S. as long as our President has messed things up so badly.

At the night market we discovered a woman who had the ability to make any Thai dish in her humble kitchen.

This is pad pak khanna kai dao, which means, khanna which is the same as gai long, chicken and a fried egg on top of the rice.

The Nan night market (nightly) is one of the nicest I've ever seen in Thailand. It is well organized, neat, tidy and there are lots of excellent foods there.

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Mark LellmanOK, I'm hungry. Khao Soi for lunch - the best I've found in Minneapolis. I'm glad you didn't ride to the desired crossing only to find out you couldn't get across. I see why you really like the Nan museum....
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1 month ago

Charlotte FloryI’m excited to go to Laos (through you)!
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1 month ago

Bo LeeWhat! We'll no longer be able to take the 2 day boat ride to Luang Prabang with the overnight in the seedy transit town of Pakbeng? :-(
When is that happening?
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1 month ago

Bruce LellmanTo Bo LeeSince the new dam is going to be built just upstream from Pak Ou Cave I just bet the slow boats will still go from Huay Xai to Pak Beng for the first night and then onward to the dam. At the dam I bet there will be buses or some sort of transport the rest of the way to Luang Prabang. But definitely it won't be the same and I really doubt they would transport people around the dam and then put them in another boat just so they can arrive 5 miles out from Luang Prabang, which is where they dock now. I have no idea why the slow boats can't dock right in the heart of Luang Prabang as they used to.
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1 month ago