“Every long road has its unexpected stops, its little discoveries, and its moments of uncertainty. Sometimes, that is what makes the journey memorable...”
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| (Our Hi-Lux next to the Thai Airways Airbus) |
Route: Nakhon Ratchasima - Nakhon Phanom
Hotel: R2 Hotel, Nakhon Phanom
We checked out early this morning, and by 7.00 am, we were already on the road, heading towards Nakhon Phanom along Route 2.
Breakfast was a simple grab-and-go affair from a 7-Eleven at Talat PTT, shrimp burgers and cappuccino hazelnut coffee. These 24-hour convenience stores, often attached to busy petrol stations, are almost like mini malls, making them convenient pit stops for road travellers and daily commuters alike. A quick, inexpensive and surprisingly satisfying way to start a long day on the road.
Along the way, we came across something quite unexpected in Sida District - a retired Thai Airways Airbus A330-300 parked by the roadside. The aircraft has been transformed into a roadside attraction and café known as Airways Land, also referred to as the Airplane Coffee Shop or Kafe Khrueng Bin. Apparently, visitors can even go inside the actual aircraft on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays for a small fee. We happened to be passing through on a Thursday, so we could only admire it from outside and, of course, take a few photographs.
Our next interesting stop was at the PTT station in Borabue, Maha Sarakham Province. This was no ordinary petrol station either. The food court is housed in a building designed like a British red double-decker bus, while the gardens around Café Amazon feature rather imaginative replicas of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and Singapore's Merlion. It was amusing how an ordinary comfort stop could suddenly turn into an unexpected sightseeing and photo opportunity.
We made a detour into Kalasin after finding a couple of supposedly halal restaurants through Google. Unfortunately, our search was unsuccessful. Rather than spend more time looking, we settled for tuna sandwiches at the Kalasin PTT for lunch. Sometimes, on a road trip, you simply have to make do with what is available.
Later, we stopped to refuel at PTT Pla Pak District before the final stretch towards Nakhon Phanom. We noticed that diesel was more expensive here. Fuel prices can vary between locations, so a little lesson for us today: fill up when the price is cheaper!
According to Google Maps, our route initially took us along the highway towards Mukdahan, but somewhere along the way, the navigation suddenly directed us onto smaller rural roads towards Nakhon Phanom. And so, after many hours on the road, we finally arrived at a place we had never visited before - Nakhon Phanom.
Tonight we are staying at the R2 Hotel Nakhon Phanom, a simple two-star budget hotel located slightly south of the town centre. Since the post-Covid period, the hotel has apparently operated on a room-only basis, with no breakfast, in-room coffee or bellboy service. For us, it was perfectly adequate for one night.
For dinner, we finally found Dapur Halal Nakhon Phanom through a Google search. We were told it was the only halal food establishment in the area, so we were more than happy to find it. By then, we were ravenous. We each had a plate of fried rice and shared a bowl of seafood tom yam. After a long day of driving, it was a simple meal, but it tasted especially good.
After dinner, we decided to drive towards the border to check on the crossing formalities for our Malaysian-registered Hi-Lux pickup. Unfortunately, the road leading towards the ICQS complex was too dark for us to see much, so we turned back.
Back at the hotel, we spread out our documents and began sorting through the paperwork needed for the possible crossing into Laos tomorrow.
Our Hi-Lux has crossed into Laos before, entering through Stung Treng in Cambodia and later exiting via Huay Xai, Laos. But this would be our first attempt to enter Laos directly from Thailand. There was still some uncertainty about tomorrow, but at least we were prepared with our documents.
By tonight, the tiredness had finally caught up with me. I went to bed early, feeling exhausted and a little groggy.
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