Back in December 2020, just as COVID 19 was bursting on the international scene and choking Thailand's tourist industry, the Thai government came up with a brilliant scheme to give vouchers to Thai residents for discounts at Thai resorts and restaurants in 'tourist areas' to spur more 'in country' tourism by Thais. It worked . . . we took a road trip north to Loei, Chiang Khan, and the Mekong River.
Our route had us drive straight through to Loei from our home in a northern suburb of Bangkok.
The majority of the drive north to Loei was on modern, divided expressway. However, as we neared Loei the road reverted to a 2-lane country road. We were lured into this strawberry stand with the promise of delicious fruit.
They were growing their own strawberries here . . . but they were asking a very high price for them. We declined to purchase any strawberries here.
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LOEI
This is the old Loei I came to see . . .
Loei is a provincial market town in the north of Thailand. It is still "old Thailand" in Loei. I last visited here about 20 years ago . . . and yes, it has changed a great deal.
But there is still a lot of the old Thailand I know and love in Loei.
The street food in Loei is excellent . . . and the people friendly.
The old downtown of Loei still has locally-owned department stores and "supermarkets" like this one.
A street corner in downtown Loei. I love snooping around in these old Thai market towns.
We stopped in this hole-in-the-wall restaurant for delicious noodle soup.
A busy market town serving a large agricultural community.
The things you see in Thailand! Yes, it was Christmas season even in Loei, Thailand. They celebrate everything here!
We walked through the downtown and found the banks of the Loei River. The bridge led to a beautiful city park.
There was fun to be had in Loei.
I sat across the street in a hipster coffee shop while my wife shopped in a fine traditional Thai textile shop across the street.
Yes, the hipster cool coffee shop can be found throughout the entire planet . . . even in the remote old market town of Loei.
Always interesting old stuff to be found in old Thai village stores.
Our very good, and very cheap Au Place Hotel in Loei.
Just a half block away from the hotel on a rural street we found this stylish Vietnamese restaurant.
We spent a couple nights in Loei and would venture out into the countryside in search of interesting things to see. We found this amazing Buddhist Temple (Wat).
There were caves with Buddhas to explore at this wat.
There was this very beautiful marble temple on the wat grounds.
The marble temple was very interesting inside.
Marvelous light and reflection inside the marble wat.
We found this marvelous restaurant for our dinner on the second night in Loei.
The "elephant restaurant' interior dining area.
We had a fine meal in this old wooden room with traditional spirit masks hanging around.
Back at our hotel . . . they had the grounds lit up like a carnival!!!
The next morning we said good-bye to Loei and hit the road for then short drive north to the town of Chiang Khan along the Mekong River.
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CHIANG KHAN
We stopped at a riverside resort as soon as we arrived at the river . . . and this was out first view of the mighty Mekong River.
We quickly found our charming old wooden guest house.
Our guest house was right on a kind of 'walking street' through the riverside village. The Mekong River is directly behind the row of houses and shops to the left.
Chiang Khan is a lovely and funky old Thai town with interesting shops and bike rentals.
With both front and rear doors open, you can look right through this hostel to the river behind it.
The many shops lining the walking street had ample supplies of local handicrafts to meet the tourist demand.
A guest house with street side 'beer chairs' . . . perfect for people watching. I couldn't help but notice the Brew Dog Punk IPA bottle . . . from Aberdeen, Scotland, my former residence.
Such an interesting and photogenic little town.
Some shops hung fabric against the harsh afternoon sun.
Each shop-front seems to have its own personality, and the photographs are like portraits.
Beautiful local, high quality traditional textiles.
There were also many shops selling the usual array of souvenir 'touristwear.'
There is no shortage of restaurants and places to buy good, expensive coffee.
I love photographing these old wooden shops . . . anywhere in the world . . . but Chiang Khan had hundreds of them, and all with amazing shapes, features, colors, and textures.
A beautiful shop-front portrait. The harsh afternoon sunlight actually enhances this photo by accentuating the wood grain and colors.
Another fabulous paneled storefront with Chinese lanterns. Lovely.
Just so much to see, notice, and photograph in this sweet little riverside town.
There was also some very nice chalk public art here and there.
Sweet chalk street art.
A very inviting bakery . . . delicious too!
Thai aesthetics are always fascinating and gorgeous. It's all in the details. Here, a detail of the interior of our guesthouse.
When walking around such these richly aesthetic places with a camera in hand, I am prone to take these kinds of "still life" photographs: pleasing arrangements of objects in fascinating light.
Another "still life" of an old art gallery.
A very old wall revealing ancient building techniques.
Wooden wall with broom and ash tray.
Chalk graffiti on old panel shop doors . . . there is a story here.
Old panel shop doors reflected in a stainless steel table. Nice. These "still life" photo opportunities were endless in Chiang Khan.
A very nice tuk-tuk, although I never saw anybody riding in one . . . everybody walked around the little town.
We were getting tired and sore walking around the sweet town . . . deciding what to do next . . .
Massage! That's what's next!! The massage shop owner was very kind.
a 2 1/2 hour Thai massage will cure whatever ails you, that's for sure! This street side massage room was so beautiful. Just breathtaking!
We spent part of our days walking along a path next to the Mekong River.
Looking across the Mekong toward the 'wild side' of Laos.
Riverboat ferry both local people and tourists up and down the river.
Mekong River boats at the ready.
A fisherman going home. Surprisingly, I did not see very many fishermen out on the river.
The fiew upriver toward the smoky Lao hills from Chiang Khan.
When the sun set we headed to the night market street.
CHIANG KHAN by NIGHT
As the light faded, and the heat dissipated, it seemed that every Thai tourist in town left their guesthouse and headed to the main walking street.
The darker it got, the bigger the crowd under the colorful, and fading sky.
At last the sun had fully set.
Many of the shops, restaurants, and bars that were closed in the afternoon opened for the throngs that came out at night. This craft beer joint was a welcome stop for me.
The interior of the craft beer hall.
The Thai hippies who ran the craft beer hall had a fantastic collection of beers and ales to choose from.
The town became even more photogenic at night. BBQ beef street hawkers.
The many stalls set up along the night street became a 'night market' - a favorite of Thai people and visitors to Thailand. There was a wide variety of things for sale. Nuts! I love nuts!
All the night market visitors brought their appetites . . . and were rewarded with a wide variety of delicious Thai specialties to eat.
Street performers in their traditional 'hill tribe' costumes entertained the gathered crowds.
My favorite street performer was this young busker playing electrified traditional old Thai music in a homemade outfit. Cool.
We enjoyed out nights walking along the Chiang Khan night market street.
After two nights in Chiang Khan we woke up early and said good-bye to the river and headed south.
Khon Kaen
We were about 30 minutes out of Chiang Khan and decided to take a different route home to Bangkok. Neither of us had ever been to Khon Kaen . . . so why not?
We didn't do too much sightseeing . . . just drove around town . . . found a great restaurant on Google . . . and found this magnificent wat to go in . . .
We were very glad we went inside.
There are many different altars in the large inner space . . . each with a group of people paying respects.
Very special light falling on the various Buddha images.
Pots for making donations and making wishes.
Such a pretty flower memorial altar.
This hyper-realistic wax monk was too realistic . . . and creepy.
We paid our respects here and then chatted with a monk before leaving. We knew we haddn't spent enough time in Khon Kaen and vowed to return.
We left the next morning for a 7 hour drive home.
It had been a wonderful vacation in the middle of the COVID Pandemic!