Ban Bo Luang lies in far western Nan province, only a dozen kilometres from the Lao border. The town is nestled in an incredibly picturesque valley with forested mountains on either side and is inhabited by three ethnic groups: Htin, Lua and northern Thai. The town is colloquially known as Ban Bo Klua (Salt Well Village) because the town’s well produces extremely salty water. You’d think this would be horrible luck (in fact there are freshwater wells and a beautiful stream there as well), but from this well the locals have been extracting ‘mountain salt’ for an estimated 300 years.

Salt, as some of you probably know, was previously a seriously valuable commodity, particularly for those with no access to the sea. It’s said that caravans from remote corners of China would stop by Ban Bo Luang to load up on  the ‘white gold’ before returning home. Although just about everybody around the world has access to salt nowadays, little has changed at Ban Bo Luang, and they’re still collecting salt as they’ve done for centuries now.

The salty water originates from a couple deep wells in the centre of the town:

The water is pumped from these wells into several rough huts that have rows of large earthen ’stoves’:

The water is then boiled for about three hours until much of the liquid evaporates and crystals start to form. The salt is then scooped into bamboo baskets to drain:

The guy pictured here is a native of Ban Bo Klua and has been doing this job much of his life:

When it’s his shift he actually sleeps in the smoky hut, waking every few hours to refuel the fires, scoop salt and refill water. The salt is sold in bags directly from the village, delivered elsewhere around Nan, and is now even being purified at the local hospital and used in different dermatological treatments. I reckon they should package it and slap on a label that says ‘Artisan Hand-Collected Htin Mountain Salt’ and sell it to people New York City for $8 a bag.

Phayao, a small town that most Thais aren’t even aware exists, turned about to be one of the more pleasant destinations of my trip. The town’s setting at the edge of a vast swamp is a lot more interesting than it sounds, and the city also had some very tasty food

The khao soi at Phayao’s Khao Soi Saeng Phian was both rich in flavour and vast in size. I generally don’t like big bowls of khao soi – it’s so much more fun and satisfying to eat two small bowls (which is generally how the dish is served in Chiang Mai) than one large one – but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The broth was tasty and they employed good quality pickled mustard cabbage. And better yet, for those of us who like northern-style noodles, there were at least four other places within a block radius serving khao soi, khanom jeen nam ngiaw, or both.

Khao Soi Saeng Phian
Th Tha Kwan, Phayao
9am-3pm

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Som tam, green papaya salad, is probably the most popular dish in Thailand. The dish likely originates in northeastern Thailand, or perhaps Laos, but can now be found in virtually every corner of the country. It’s equal parts cheap, spicy, quick and satisfying, leaving little wonder why it’s become so popular.

However when a dish reaches this ubiquitous and iconic status, the most natural next step is to change it somehow. This has already begun to happen to Thailand’s beloved som tam. The most recent twist I encountered at a small cafe/resturant in Nan was deep-fried som tam (pictured above).

The papaya actually appeared to be more dried than deep-fried; there was none of the oiliness or sogginess typically associated with deep-fried…papaya. There was some regular shredded green papaya thrown in, as well as some carrot and the usual tomatoes, peanuts, long beans and other seasonings. Like a good som tam should be, the dish was satisfying and refreshing, but had the added benefit of being super crispy. The only real downside I could find would be the addition some overly-sweet dried fish.

Kamlang Dee
Th Sumonthewarat, Nan
11am-7.30pm

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This bowl of chicken khao soi was downed in the lovely city of Nan. The restaurant is located about a two-minute walk from Wat Phumin, my favourite Buddhist temple in Thailand. Wat Phumin’s Buddhist murals, executed by a Thai Lue artist called Thit Buaphan in the late 19th century, are exquisite; this bowl of khao soi was merely acceptable. Sweet was the dominating flavour, if I remember correctly, although the dab of plain coconut cream was a welcome aesthetic flourish.

The sign out front simply reads ‘Khao Soi’ and is located next door to a bakery/cafe called Hot Bread.

Khao Soi/Hot Bread
38/1-2 Th Suriyaphong, Nan
089 635 9375
7am-4pm

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Nan, a little-visited city in northern Thailand, has a great atmosphere, an attractive setting, friendly people and some of the most beautiful temples in the country. Unfortunately, it also has one of the worst eating scenes of any city in Thailand.

Actually, that’s not entirely accurate. I’m sure there are some great home cooks in Nan, and the prepared food and ingredients at the markets looked pretty tasty. And eventually I did find one interesting local restaurant. But for a visitor without access to a kitchen or even dishes, the Nan’s food choices were pretty uninspiring, and sometimes just plain bad; I left one meal (a simple vegetable stir-fry, I’m not entirely sure how they managed to mess it up) half-eaten on the table, something I don’t think I’ve ever done before in Thailand.

So on my last day in the city, rather than eat yet another mediocre restaurant meal, I decided to buy lunch to go at the morning market. Everything was wrapped in banana leaf, so I didn’t need any plates, and the the various dishes are meant eaten by hand with sticky rice in the northern style, so silverware wasn’t even necessary. And my hotel had some tables on a balcony overlooking the street, so I didn’t have to eat on my hotel bed or directly in front of a dressing table mirror.

The meal included, clockwise from 12 o’clock, sticky rice; par-boiled veggies, including some nice local beans; deep-fried pork rinds; sai ua, a type of herb-filled local sausage; nam phrik taa daeng, a chili dip made from dried chilies; and aep paa, a steamed banana leaf packet of fish and chili paste. I think it came to less than 50 baht (about $1.50) for everything, and it was by far the tastiest meal I had in Nan.