Destinations Thailand

With love from Chiang Khan

January 26, 2016

Caution – this is going to be a photo-heavy post, so please take a couple of minutes to fully enjoy the virtual tour of this traditional Thai town 🙂 After visiting Thailand many times now, I’m always looking for new destinations off the beaten track. Well, at least what foreign visitors consider undiscovered, because Chiang Khan is no secret to city-plagued Bangkokians anymore. On the other hand, you’ll hardly find any farangs (Westerners) there. This rather sleepy town in the remote Northeastern province of Loei changes its quiet facade every night, when the shopping street fills up with people after sunset. The main street is where all the magic happens, that’s where Thai tourists shop, eat and take photos of Chiang Khan’s most precious heritage:  The traditional, wooden houses.

CK4They were carving beautiful lamps out of plastic bottles. Very skillful!

CK5CK7CK6During the day it’s way more quiet…

CK8

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The Mekong – Southeast Asia’s longest river – runs right behind those pretty houses. It’s the natural border between Thailand and Laos.

CK30CK29CK20CK21CK23The obligatory tuk-tuk selfie 😉

CK22The second attraction of Chiang Khan are the river bends a few kilometres away. A natural beauty with some good river views.

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Early mornings had a very quiet and mystic spirit. Must be because of the monks, who collect the morning alms. Although their chanting woke me up, it was a very nice way to start the day.

CK11CK12

CK10We also found our favourite coffee/tea spot: Husband & Wife Guesthouse has lovely wooden interior and is a popular place to hang out.

HusbandWife2HusbandWife5CK16Chiang Khan isn’t known for outstanding dining options, but you’ll find decent Thai fares (and enough photos for some food porn) like this laarb (spicy minced meat salad).

CK35Or this mouthwatering Mekong catch: Snake head fish with lots of Thai basil. I simply love the way how Thais prepare fish!

CK34So simple but so good: Khao Pad Gai (fried rice with chicken)

CK33My favourite noodle dish isn’t Pad Thai actually, but I much rather go for Pad See Ew (broad rice noodles with Chinese broccoli). Yum!

CK36

Honestly, there’s not much else to do in Chiang Khan and three days were plenty of time to enjoy some peace and quiet and take it a little slower. Nevertheless it’s a cute, very photogenic place and definitely a nice change from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok!

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23 Comments

  • Reply Katherine Karimi January 26, 2016 at 9:04 pm

    Gorgeous photos! Thank you for this post.

    • Reply sileas January 29, 2016 at 4:13 pm

      Thank you for reading!

  • Reply The Tastemonials January 26, 2016 at 10:33 pm

    Meine Liebe, wenn du mir jetzt noch das Rezept vom Khao Pad Gai gibst, bin ich glücklich 😉 Im Ernst, das ist mal wieder ein superschöner Post mit Wahnsinnsbildern. Fast als wäre man dort 🙂 GLG, Heike

    • Reply sileas January 29, 2016 at 4:16 pm

      Danke das freut mich! Ich bin ja auch so ein riesiger Khao Pad Fan und hab auch mehrere Rezepte herum liegen. Werden demnächst ausprobiert und veröffentlicht, versprochen 😉

  • Reply sommertage January 26, 2016 at 11:36 pm

    Ach, so viele schöne Fotos! Da bekommt man Fernweh <3
    Von Chiang Khan hab ich noch gar nicht gehört, aber das sieht nach einem sehr gemütlichen Städtchen aus, toll!
    Liebe Grüße, Kathi

    • Reply sileas January 29, 2016 at 4:18 pm

      Ist noch ein ziemlicher Geheimtip außerhalb Thailands und gemütlich triffts sehr gut 😉

  • Reply mintnoti January 27, 2016 at 3:27 am

    Loved looking at all your photos! I really like Pad See Ew too, as opposed to Pad Thai. Your meals look delicious, the food is so nicely presented on the plates. I’ll have to remember this place if I ever visit Thailand.

    http://www.mintnotion.com

    • Reply sileas January 29, 2016 at 4:19 pm

      Hehe I’m glad we’re alike 😉 The food was really great (as always)!

  • Reply SueT唐 梦 琇 January 27, 2016 at 4:25 am

    Great post. Loved your photos. Really interesting to read. I love the Mekong having been on a boat ride along the Cambodia part.

    • Reply sileas January 29, 2016 at 4:28 pm

      Oh yeah the Mekong is really impressive. There’s so many cool places around that river 🙂

  • Reply Mitzie Mee January 27, 2016 at 5:43 pm

    Looks amazing! Your photos are really beautiful. I’ll keep that place in mind next time I visit Bangkok. I’ll be in Thailand again next week, and this time with my parents, but we’ll be landing on Phuket, and stay in that area for a couple of days:)

    • Reply sileas January 29, 2016 at 4:26 pm

      Wow you’re always on the move, I’m really jealous 😉 That sounds amazing! Enjoy!!

  • Reply Vicky T. January 28, 2016 at 7:30 am

    What a beautiful city and those plastic bottle lamps are so pretty

    Vicky
    http://vickysscrapbook.com/

    • Reply sileas January 29, 2016 at 4:30 pm

      Yes I loved the lamps too! What a great idea!

  • Reply Paleica January 28, 2016 at 10:06 am

    sehr schön und irgendwie sehr so, wie man sich asien vorstellt. danke fürs mitnehmen auf diese schöne tour 🙂

    • Reply sileas January 29, 2016 at 4:29 pm

      Danke, manchmal ist es doch ganz nett wenn ein paar Klischees wahr werden 😉

  • Reply Tiffany. Yang February 1, 2016 at 12:44 am

    I love the photos, it feels like i’m actually there as well. I really like the ones at the river side. 🙂

    http://www.thelookingglassbyty.com

    • Reply sileas February 1, 2016 at 3:08 pm

      Thank you! I wanted to give you the feel of that place and I’m glad it worked 🙂

  • Reply dayinmydreams February 1, 2016 at 4:06 am

    no such thing as too heavy on the photos! so enjoyed the journey. I’ve never been there, but would so love to visit! If I ever do, I know who to ask for travel advise 😉
    http://dayinmydreams.com/

    • Reply sileas February 1, 2016 at 3:09 pm

      Always welcome to do so 😉 Have a great week!

  • Reply Alex March 29, 2016 at 1:38 pm

    Hallo Julia,

    Schau doch das nächste Mal wenn Du in Thailand bist bei uns in den Reisfeldern vorbei (wir sind in der gleichen Provinz wie Chiang Khan)…

    http://www.myproject.rocks/thailand/ch

    • Reply sileas April 7, 2016 at 9:43 am

      Sieht nach einem interessanten Projekt aus! Danke für den Tip!

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