15th January: Udon Thani, Thailand
Today might’ve just been our earliest start of the trip! When deciding where to break our journey south, we had the option of one night in either Nong Khai or Udon Thani. When researching them I found something special near Udon Thani, so we ended up booking two nights in order to make this trip. We were up just after 4am and were able to get a Grab taxi the 40km or so out to Nong Han Kumphawapi.
When we arrived at this lake, the glow of pre-dawn was creeping over the horizon. A few small boats sat on the shore, with their operators chatting and doing a few repairs. A dozen or so stray dogs wandered around, with one particularly enjoying an ear scratch and being playfully nibbly. Eventually, a ticket seller turned up. We were first in line and then straight down on to a narrow wooden craft.
Lifejackets on, we were on the first boat to wobble away from the shore. Soon, we were out onto a channel in the lake making a heading straight for the soon-to-rise sun in perfectly still water, surrounded by thousands of migratory birds. It was glorious. As the twilight grew stronger, the star of this lake began to show itself. This is Red Lotus Lake, although in fact it is full of pink waterlilies. And I mean full! The area is around 30 km2 and from mid-December to mid-February it is covered in pink flowers which open every morning. Just before the orange sun rose over the horizon, our skipper turned off the engine and punted us into the middle of this sea of pink. It was one of the most beautiful scenes we’ve ever witnessed.
If I wasn’t there and had just seen the photos, I’d have assumed some kind of AI/photoshop nonsense! After an hour and 20 minutes of finding incredible spots around the lake, we returned to shore. Our taxi driver was still around and waved us over. We negotiated a fair price directly and were able to head straight back to town. All in all, the return journey and boat hire came to less than £25, which is a lot less than we’d heard of anybody doing it for previously. I can’t believe that this isn’t a hugely famous place. It’s probably only a matter of time before an Instagram aggregator ends the peace and tranquillity.
Still a little chilly from the cool morning air, we warmed up in the already strong sun on our way to get some breakfast. The market we stopped at yesterday was already open and very quiet, so we grabbed sandwiches and some deliciously strong teas and coffees.
Walking down the main road back to the hotel, I glanced left and thought that’s a big horse. I looked again and was astonished that it was actually an elephant walking down the road 3 metres away from us! I was so taken aback and slightly scared that I didn’t even get a proper photo.
After a bit of a nap, we ventured back out for lunch. I had a sweet tofu dish similar to yesterday and some kind of coconutty green vegetable, whilst Kaja had something crunchy and a ginger vegetable and tofu dish. We both had rice and a delicate soup and shared a seitan ‘fish’ dish cooked in banana leaves. All of this came to £2.70. Hopefully we can keep finding these little places. Kaja is very good at it! From next-door, we ordered a chocolate orange oat-milk frappe which was icy and refreshing on this hot afternoon. I think I prefer the fruitier drinks though, of which there are plenty.
Close to our hotel there is a shopping centre, which turned out to be massive! I was finally able to get some shorts to double as swim shorts, which will come in handy as we head south to the heat of Bangkok. We’ve also replenished the snack stash for tomorrow’s 8-hour train journey, as we’re unsure if there’ll be loads of food options or none at all (reviews are mixed). One thing we’ve noticed around town, but especially in the shopping centre, is that there are a surprising amount of old white guys here, usually with Thai partners (all well and good if everyone’s happy, of course). Obviously, everybody has heard that this is a thing, but we didn’t expect to see so many westerners in a provincial town in the northeast. Leaving the shopping centre, the entire front concourse was full of hundreds of people dancing joyously together as the sun went down. Udon Thani has been a lovely introduction to Thailand.
Back in the room we had a delicious late dinner of snacks picked up earlier in the day. Rice rolls filled with tofu and veg and topped with sweet soy from the lunch place were fantastically balanced, and fresh pomelo to cleanse the palette. Perfect!