Flooding in Nan has subsided enough for us to go on a day trip today. First stop is a coffee shop at Nan Riverside Art Gallery. The coffee was good and a herbal tea of some sort was served along side it. We could see how high the flood waters were and the river was still flowing rapidly.

This is at the front of the Gallery. The whispering statues in the middle are iconic to Nan. There is an original artwork of the whispering people in one of the Temples in Nan and we are seeing whispering people all around Nan.

A riverside coffee in their handmade cups.

After our walk around the art gallery we were off to our lunch spot. A very small cafe in Northern Nan. We started with fried Chicken Wings and then had Pad See Ew noodles. Followed by fresh fruit grown in their garden.

Gerard and Romney in front of our beautiful lunch table view.

Longans and Dragon Fruit.

After lunch we stopped at a pop-up roadside Batik clothing stall run by a real character! He is famous in Thailand for playing male and female roles in movies. He now designs batik clothing. Next we were off to a silver workshop. Students are sponsored to come and learn the traditional trade and stay for at least three years. They create some amazingly intricate silver works.

A qilck drink stop at Ban Tai Lue on the way back before a swim in the pool as the storm rolled in across the mountains.

A purple butterfly pea flower and pineapple drink, a dog in shoes and a tu tu, and the view from the coffee shop.

Then out to dinner at Nan Green House.

We were being watched with our appetiser!

An American dish thrown in to the mix – Pork Ribs!

Well Nan is still flooded but we are safe and sound in our resort with food being brought in. Apparently we have enough food for 3 days, however based on last nights meals I am sure we could make that last six days at least. There are worse places to be stuck that’s for sure.

We are just staying around the resort today to stay out of the way of people trying to help. Looks like we might be here for 5 days at least. The water levels have reduced a little but most of Nan is still flooded. Duang still cannot get to her house.

Fried rice and an egg for breakfast. The owner of the resort, Khun Tae has taught herself to make sourdough bread for the Australian Tourists so we could have toast as well.

We wandered into the next town up the hill just for a look around. Had to be back for lunch at 12.30!

Lunch was a fishball thai noodle soup concoction – again very delicious. The Fish Balls were made from fish, rice flour and tofu.

Lazy day by the pool and then Duang had organised a quick cooking class of spring rolls for us before dinner. We had the spring rolls for appetisers then dinner was brought in from one of the restaurants we were supposed to visit but couldn’t because of the flooding.

Some locals helping locals by delivering some food to the flooded side of the river.

Lunch – the noodles on the bench and the fish ball soup on the stove.

Dessert was sticky rice and banana cooked in banana leaf.

A funny flat snale in the garden.

Spring roll class.

Dinner – the vegie dish was morning glory.

Breakfast at the airport before our flight to Nan. Some of us were more adventurous that others!!

We had heard just before we left that there was flooding in Nan. Flying in to Nan we could see it was very flooded. Upon landing we were told our hotel was not accessible due to flooding in their street. Fortunately, the owners of the hotel also own a resort a little out of town. We had been upgraded for a couple of nights whilst, hopefully, the flood waters subside. We were taken straight form the Airport to a restaurant up in the hills amongst rice fields. We had a traditional Northern Thai noodle dish very similar to a laksa except with condiments on offer. Pickled mustard greens, fresh shallots, lime and fried noodles. Truly delicious! Lunch was cut short as we had heard the bridge was starting to flood and would close very soon. We need this bridge to get to our resort! Phew, we made it just in time. We were able to enjoy the afternoon by the pool.

The Hotel owners hired a canoe just so that they could transport some food from the hotel to the resort. They wanted to still feed us the meal they had so lovingly been preparing for us. We were feeling guilty enjoying a wonderful feast whilst others in the town were having such a hard time. We have all offered our services to help clean up if and when required after the flood waters subside.

Unfortunately Duang’s house has also been flooded so no cooking lessons there for now. We are on an unexpected adventure, but for now, I am still very confident that the food is not going to disappoint!

My breakfast was quiet a selection – pandan custard with doughnut type things, coffee with condensed milk, chinese black tea and an onsen egg which was a little raw for me to eat!

Our very decorative plane!

A little robotic cleaner heading my way!

They smuggled beer in from Laos for us because it is better than Thai beer – although we have found Thai beer to be quite ok.

This was our appetiser, lots of tasty morsels to eat in a lettuce leaf with some Nam Prik Noom sauce. We then had a salad along with some fresh river fish and a tofu sweet and sour type dish. I even went back for seconds on the tofu dish! Sorry missed getting photos of those ones.

Dessert was Thai Coconut Custard served in a mini sweet pumpkin with some cantaloupe.

An early breakfast this morning before our 3.5 hour taxi ride back to Bangkok. We have a flight to catch Thursday morning to go to Nan so we are staying at the Amari Don Muang Airport Hotel. After our long taxi ride we really couldn’t face another hour in the taxi to go into Bangkok so we decided to stay at the hotel and have a quiet day. We opted for a takeaway lunch from Bon Chon Chicken – it was pretty good!! A swim in the pool then happy hour cocktails before dinner in the hotel dining room. Classic Pad Thai, Thai Geen Curry and Chicken Satay.

This Bon Chon pack included a soupy dish with an egg in it, Chicken Wings, Kimchi and pickled radish along with rice and drinks.

Another fabulous breakfast. Well, what should we do for our last day? We have already said we are not going to go to the vineyard as we are so spoilt in Australia and we can’t imagine that the wine would be any good anyway. We have also said we do not need a big lunch today after all the eating we have been doing!

What do we end up doing?– A last minute decision to go to the vineyard! We found out they have an elephant sanctuary so why not go and see the elephants?!?

We are not fussed about the wine tasting so we are not going to do the full package are we?? Somehow I find myself ticking the box for the full 5 course lunch with the 5 wines to match! And boy am I glad we did. The food was amazing and believe it or not the wine was absolutely amazing as well!! All five of them. Oh, and then we added a dessert, along with a very nice dessert wine! The setting could have easily been in Loire Valley or Yarra Valley!

A fabulous, unexpected day finished off with an Italian meal in Hua Hin. It was a very European experience in Thailand

Our favourite Thai dessert so far – Mango with sticky rice and coconut cream.

Day 3 Started with another delicious 3 course breakfast with dessert being a crispy salmon and sticky rice dish in banana leaf. It was sweet and delicious. Then a hot 2.5km walk to check out Bluport Shopping Centre. They had massive goldfish swimming in a big pond inside the centre. We jumped in a TukTuk and went to Koti Restaurant for lunch. It has been going since 1932. It’s not flash looking but the food was nice. most eating places are not airconditioned but they do have lots of fans. A Tuk Tuk back to Let’s Sea Resort for a swim, pre dinner drinks and dinner!

This was Gerard’s Rice porridge with condiments.

This was a pork noodle breakfast dish with shot glasses of Fish Sauce, Vinegar, Chilli and Sugar for mixing in as desired.

Our breakfast dessert today was coconut pudding and the sweet salmon with sticky rice.

Pre dinner drinks and a complimentary snack.

Moved inside for dinner only to receive another complimentary snack!

I felt the food at the night market deserved its own post!

First up – Grilled Snapper – Melt in your mouth deliciousness!

Next up – grilled prawns.

Next – pork sausage skewers

next was grilled chicken

Finally – Mango with sticky coconut rice. All for the equivalent of $50 which included a beer and a glass of sav blanc.

After a walk along the beach, we came back to the resort for breakfast. Gotta love a breakfast that starts with Champagne, moves on to a Crab Omelette with lobster bisque and ends with Sweet corn and Coconut. I get the feeling this holiday is all about the food! After breakfast we caught a taxi into Hua Hin to see the gingerbread house style Hua Hin Train Station and a walk through town to the pier. Man, it was hot! Along the way we stumbled across a croissant shop of all things!! We hopped in a motorised Tuk Tuk to get back to the resort for a swim a cold beer and some more food. A bit of a relax then off to the markets for more food!

Our view from the breakfast table – very hard to see the horizon.

A flat croissant and an espresso mixed with orange juice.

Hundreds and hundreds of umbrellas!

A selfie on the Tuk Tuk

Lunch – grilled octopus.

More lunch – crispy fired salmon skin with salted egg yolk.

More lunch – crab lollypops with caviar.

Day 1 – 17 August

A long day of travelling today. A 9-hour flight with Thai Airways that was very pleasant then over a 3-hour taxi ride to Let’s Sea Resort in Hua Hin. We were welcomed at 11.15pm with a glass of white wine before going to our room. Our room has direct access into the pool from our private deck and a tv in the bathroom.

Last Day, Day 19, July 11

Breakfast again at Curio, a bit of a walk down the street then back to the Mitsui Gardens Hotel to pack. A bus to the train station then two Shinkansen to Tokyo Airport then home! Lunch was take away on the train.

We have had a wonderful holiday in Japan, people are lovely, scenery is beautiful and the food is… interesting. Much of it delicious, some of it strange and some of it a mystery!! The culture is rich and we enjoyed learning about Japan and its culture. You cannot eat in the street walking along. If you buy from a street stall at a market you must eat in the designated area, Smoking is still allowed in restaurants but not on the streets. Slurping your noodles is a must and you must be quiet on the trains. Queuing in Japan should be worldwide. They are very orderly and no one pushes in. There are lines everywhere to show you where to queue. They are very respectful and modest yet they bath together in the nuddy!

All in all a great holiday. Home now for a rest!

A Kanazawa specialty – Kanazawa pudding. Creme caramel in a jar with a little sachet of caramel to pour on top. It was delicious, as good as any French restaurant.