Sakon Nakhon: one day in Northern Thailand’s indigo capital

  1. Elephant chasing in Chiang Mai – Elephant Jungle Sanctuary Review
  2. Zip lining: Flying through the jungles in Chiang Mai
  3. The Ultimate Price Guide to Chiang Mai
  4. Chiang Mai Markets: there is one for every day of the week (2024 update)
  5. Chiang Mai Temple Run – Top 5 + Tips
  6. Venture with Impact: living in Chiang Mai for a month
  7. 5 best Chiang Mai day trips: discover the nature and culture
  8. Escape to the Chiang Mai countryside: a getaway with Panviman Spa
  9. Bangkok Itinerary: 4 days of shopping, culture, and seafood
  10. Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport guide for those who arrive late or early
  11. Ayutthaya Day Trip from Bangkok
  12. Best temples in Bangkok besides Grand Palace, Wat Pho, and Wat Arun
  13. Food to eat in Bangkok: a comprehensive foodie guide
  14. Zazz Urban Bangkok: a hotel review
  15. Amphawa Floating Market and Maeklong Railway Market day trip review
  16. Sakon Nakhon: one day in Northern Thailand’s indigo capital
  17. Postcards from Thailand – a giveaway with MyPostcard
  18. Zeavola: unexpected barefoot luxury in Koh Phi Phi
  19. Cheow Lan Lake Tour in Khao Sok: what to expect on an overnight tour
  20. Koh Phi Phi Island Itinerary: beaches and tour guides + more
  21. Koh phangan in 36 hours: a first timer stopover guide for non-motorbike riders
  22. Thailand 2 week itinerary: the best from north to south
  23. Chatuchak Market guide by a Bangkok market addict (updated 2024)
  24. Test & Go Thailand and Thailand Pass: all questions answered (April 2022)
  25. Itinerary for Krabi: 3 to 5 days perfect for beach and nature lovers
  26. The Pavilions Anana Krabi – Ao Nang Krabi’s best kept secret
  27. Phuket Old Town: what to see and where to eat
  28. Chiang Mai Massage: best and cheap places to go (updated 2024)
  29. Sustainable luxury in Phuket: Wyndham Grand Phuket Kalim Bay Review
  30. Best Chiang Mai restaurants, street food, and vegan places
  31. A first timer’s guide to Khao Sok National Park and its tours
  32. Hua Hin Itinerary: how to get there from Bangkok and what to do
  33. Street Food in Chinatown Bangkok: a foodie’s guide
  34. Dragon Crest Mountain: best hiking in Krabi
  35. Where in Bangkok to Stay: best areas, first timers, and more!
  36. Thai Massage in Bangkok: best Bangkok Massage Parlors + where to get deals
  37. Bangkok Night Markets: where to go and when to go

Sakon Nakhon in northern Thailand is still relatively unknown, a province near the border of Laos near the bigger Nakhon Phanom. Only an hour’s flight from Bangkok, it’s an alternative destination for those interested in ethnic culture, indigo dyeing, and farm experiences. Whether you are looking for a quick escape from Bangkok a short flight away or a stop on your northern Thailand road trip, here’s a look at Sakon Nakhon.

Note: my trip to Sakhon Nakhon was hosted by Thailand Tourism Board, Take Me Tour Thailand and AirAsia but all opinions are my own

Contents

Sakon Nakhon to Bangkok

indigo-dyeing-lady-Ban-Nong-San-sakon-nakhon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat
Let’s head north!

AirAsia has one daily flight from Bangkok to Sakon Nakhon (vice versa) from Don Mueang Airport. It is an early flight, so to make sure we will make it for the 7am flight, we booked a transfer shuttle to the airport with TakeMeTour.

Our hotel had kindly packed us takeaway breakfast for the early checkout (most hotel should do this so make sure you ask), and our driver was already waiting for us for the 5am pick up. We had the minivan to ourselves and it only took half an hour to reach the airport from around Nana BTS.

air-asia-check-in-domestic-Don-Mueang-Airport-bangkok-thailand-laugh-travel-eat

The domestic flights for AirAsia is located at terminal 2 at the Don Mueang Airport, with easy self check in facilities. The whole check in process was smooth and we ended up with an extra hour to spare.

air-asia-sunrise-flight-Don-Mueang-Airport-bangkok-thailand-laugh-travel-eat
perks of an early flight: catching sunrises

Once landed, the flight will return to Bangkok so there is only one flight from Sakon Nakhon to Bangkok to and in the morning. The airport at Sakon Nakhon is fairly small but still functional.

airport-sakon-nakhon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat

Since our flights were basically within a day of each others, we were able to check in for both when we were at Don Mueang.

Sakon Nakhon attractions

Sakon Nakhon province’s capital is a city of the same name. Still relatively devoid of international visitors, its temples are popular for Malaysian tourists and domestic travellers enjoy spending some time here to enjoy the countryside. As a none-thai speaker who also didn’t want to rent a car, we joined a tour to explore Sakon Nahkon in one day:

Things to do in Sakon Nakhon

The best thing about the tour for us is that we were picked up at the airport by our host, who then drove us back to the hotel to check in and refresh. Traffic is completely non-existent in Sakon Nakhon, and it was a dream to get around.

Breakfast at Lert Rot Fried Egg

shop-front-Lert-Rot-Fried-Egg-sakon-nakhon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat

A popular breakfast spot in the center of town, it’s obvious from the name that it specialises in fried eggs. Our guide told us that they have a large Vietnamese community here and the restaurant is operated by a Vietnamese family.

Lert-Rot-Fried-Egg-sakon-nakhon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat

The famous eggy breakfast dish involves fried eggs, sausage slices, fried veggies with minced pork. It is usually eaten with a side of Banh Mi. Their signature drink is the orange juice, but tea is already provided. Noodle dishes are also available, my mum had a fish cake noodle dish that she raved about for the rest of the day.

Note that they like to add plum to the orange juice (common in Vietnam, too) which some people don’t like.

Ban Nong San

Ban-Nong-San-sakon-nakhon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat

Our next stop is to the village of Ban Nong San, about an hour or so south of the main town. It is an Isan village, whose culture are similar to Lao and Khmer due to its geographic history, and where our little day tour take place.

Isan offering making

Ban-Nong-San-offering-making-sakon-nakhon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat

In the Isan culture, they hold ceremonies four times a month during full moon and half moon, and the offerings are made using banana leaves and small flowers.

making-isan-offerings-sakon-nahkon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat

We visited a local lady’s home where she taught us how to make the offerings. It involves making a cone and adding triangle of leaves on top, pinning time using thin bamboo sticks. Tiny flowers are added at the tip and it definitely takes a lot of skills!

Sommanus Farm

Easy-cart-Ban-Nong-San-sakon-nakhon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat

Up next, a local cart they dubbed EZ Cart, which is basically a wagon pulled by a machine with an engine. We piled onto the wagon and the farmer expertly navigate the country roads, then main road, using a long steer. Our destination is the Sommanus Farm, which means happy farm. It is an organic farm run by two local ladies.

Sommanus-Farm-Ban-Nong-San-sakon-nakhon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat

After a warm welcome, they showed us around their farm hut. This is their base and rest point during the work day, an airy, two storey building with an open structure. We got a huge tub of Mon – a mulberry and sugar cane juice with a beautiful purple colour – to cool down.

Mon-drink-Sommanus-Farm-Ban-Nong-San-sakon-nakhon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat

They showed us to the rice paddies, which are now golden and ready to harvest. We tried our hands on harvesting, and they walked us through the process of how they prepare the rice.

The grains are first left to dry, before the shells are removed using a spoon. The lot is then put in a pewter to smash off the shells, then throw on a woven bamboo tray, ga Dipt, to let the wind blow the lighter shells away.

When I tried to do that, I almost lost all the rice…

cooking-station-Sommanus-Farm-Ban-Nong-San-sakon-nakhon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat

Sommanus Farm produces a local specialty rice, the Khawhang. It’s a yellowish sticky rice that is a favourite among the local, and retain more nutrients than white rice.

Our lovely hosts also cooked up an amazing lunch for us:

lunch-at-the-farm-sakon-nakhon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat
  • Omelette
  • Some kind of veggie shoot stir fry with sausage and mushroom
  • Papaya salad
  • Black chicken soup
  • Sticky Rice

It was fun cooking with the ladies from the farm. Our guide’s sister and cousin had come along, too, and it was a lively affair.

Indigo dyeing

indigo-dye-Ban-Nong-San-sakon-nakhon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat

After our lunch, we got back on the Easy Cart to go back to the village for some indigo dyeing! This reminds me a little of my time in Nong Khiaw, with the local ladies there working on their indigo dye. They first taught us how they transform cotton into threads, a three stage process that I absolutely did not excel at.

cotton-thread-making-step-1-indigo-dye-Ban-Nong-San-sakon-nakhon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat
  • Roll them over a machine to remove the buds
cotton-thread-making-step-2-indigo-dye-Ban-Nong-San-sakon-nakhon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat
  • Use something that looks similar to a bow to fluff it out
cotton-thread-making-step-3-indigo-dye-Ban-Nong-San-sakon-nakhon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat
  • Wind it into thread using a spinning wheel

To experience the indigo dyeing, we decided to use a t-shirt, but scarves are also available. I would recommend you to research what kind of tie dye you want before the trip, but we are able to find some on Pinterest and the ladies there have some suggestions for us, too.

The tie dye process takes longer than expected, with us using elastic bands, cotton seeds, and even sticks. I ended up going for a symmetrical circle look just at the front to save time!

pots-of-indigo-dye-Ban-Nong-San-sakon-nakhon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat

Next, we move onto actually dyeing the t-shirt. Indigo dye is expensive, and the pots are kept at the side of the street. The colour of the dye, contrary to what I think, isn’t dark blue but with a yellowish tint.

tshirt-indigo-dye-Ban-Nong-San-sakon-nakhon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat

The colour is first green yellow and then turn indigo as you wrench it dry multiply times. Indigo dye pot is added with banana and turmeric juice to help, but honestly as a lay person I’m not sure about the science behind that!

tie-dye-indigo-sakon-nahkon-thailand-laugh-travel-eat

The t-shirt is dye for a prolonged period in the pot, we had to use gloves to avoid staining our clothes but of course I managed to spray a lot all over myself. We then had to rinse them off before the letting them dry.

Then it was time to return to our hotel! The car ride back to Sakon Nakhon is just over an hour and we got back around 4pm. As I’ve said before, there is absolutely no traffic so it was a smooth journey.

We had originally wanted to visit the temples in town, however it is impossible to get around in Sakon Nakhon without a car. Our hotel informed us that there isn’t any taxi (yet), and they kindly drove us to town to get some dinner!

Sakon Nakhon in northern Thailand is still relatively unknown, a province near the border with Laos. Only an hour’s flight from Bangkok, it’s an alternative destination for those interested in ethnic culture, indigo dyeing, and farm experiences. Whether you are looking for a quick escape from Bangkok a short flight away or a stop on your northern Thailand road trip, here’s a look at Sakon Nakhon. #SakonNakhon #Thailand
Pin me!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ad Blocker Detected!

Advertisements fund this website. Please disable your adblocking software or whitelist our website.
Thank You!
Want an off-line guide for Cinque Terre?
Including exclusive photo spots and tips Plus more travel tips in my FREE resource library
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download THE travel planning spreadsheet
Get THE travel planning spreadsheet I use to plan your trip and track your finance!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Get a free travel plan & finance spreadsheet!
And get access to my exclusive resource library with map itineraries, travel checklist and more
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download a one-page price list for reference on your trip to Chiang Mai!
Have it handy so you know what price you should pay when you haggle!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your FREE map for Ljubljana
Get a copy of the map for your trip to the Slovenia captial! You can probably do everything in 1 day
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your FREE map for the Lake Bohinj region
Lake Bohinj region is big - so get a map of my favourite spots to make the most of your trip!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your FREE map for Lake Bled
Get a free map of best viewpoints, sights and restaurants in Bled for your trip!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your FREE map for Milan
Get your map of what to see in Milan in 48 hours - including tips and tricks
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your FREE map for Taormina
Know where the best spots in Taormina is with this Google My Map
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your FREE map for the Lake Bohinj region
Get this comprehensive map with transport stops and routes clearly marked for your trip to Bohinj!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your FREE map for your trip to the Peak!
Get this comprehensive map with transport stops and routes clearly marked for your trip to The Peak
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your FREE map for Prague!
Get this all-in-one map for the best viewpoints, top 5 and restaurants pick in Prague!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Get free destination maps for your travels
Join my exclusive resource library with map itineraries, travel checklist and more. Currently most popular: Milan, Lake Bled and Hong Kong maps
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download the free 1 day Itinerary for Hong Kong!
Make it easy to find all the spots and follow with the infographic
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your map for Eze and Monaco
the all-in-one day trip map with bus stops, sights and viewpoints labeled for you
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your 3 day map itinerary for Danang
Enjoy a 3 day trip that you don't need to plan!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Do you want to know all my blogging secret?
Sign up to hear first about my Ultimate blogging beginners course
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your FREE map for Hoi AN!
Get this all-in-one map for the Hoi An old town and best restaurants
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your FREE map for Hue!
See Hue in 2-3 days with this guide!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your FREE map for Phong Nha!
Where the caves are, what there's to do and where to eat in Phong Nha!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your map for Padua!
It include my entire day's itinerary, not just the top 5!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your map for Sirmione
This might be a small town, but knowing where to go will still help your day!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your map for Sirmione
This might be a small town, but knowing where to go will still help your day!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your map for Verona!
My all in one guide to Veona including secret spots, restaurants and top sights!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your map for Chiang Mai
Get the exact map hat I prepped for the trip with restaurants, sights and spa locations marked on!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your map for Nara!
Get the itinerary for food, temples and deer spotting in Nara!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your map for Macau!
Get my 48 hours itinerary for Macau
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your map for Macau!
From how to get there to what to eat after in Yuen Long
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your map for Central & Admiralty
get your half day itinerary to the heart of Hong Kong!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Download your Shui Long Wo Hiking Map
It isn't hard - but better safe than sorry ;)
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Get all 9 spots with 1 map!
For the hiking views, you'll need to read their respective articles for transport options!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Let's hike West High Hill!
Let's get you from the Peak to some stunning vista!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Get a map of my favourite restaurants in Hong Kong
This map would be updated as I add more!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Get my Angkor + Siem Reap Itinerary
Restaurants, markets and more
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Get my 7 days Tokyo Itinerary!
Including all the spots in the post and more!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Get your FREE Nusa Penida Map
Including all the spots in the post and more!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.
Get my Singapore map!
Including all the spots in the post!
Your Information will never be shared with any third party.