Khao Kho, Phatchabun

A pleasant discovery

Located a few dozen kilometres from Phatchabun on one side, and Phitsanulok on the other, this absolutely brilliant place is located along Route 12 in the heart of Thailand, between Khon-Kaen and Sukhothai.

Located in the middle of the mountains offering a splendid panorama, the Coffee Shop on Route 12 in Khao Kho is quite surprising.

Composed of several shops full of nice gadgets, small bistro corners with terrace, a restaurant with a kitchen offering a multitude of small dishes.

Old Juke-Boxes, old record players, old petrol pumps, in short, this place really seduced me and it's with great joy that I come back for the second time to stroll in this universe lulled discreetly by period music which inevitably makes you nostalgic: this beautiful period of the 60's in the USA!

 Beautiful Landscape... as far as the eye can see.

This road 12 which crosses a good part of Thailand cannot leave indifferent. In places, called the Switzerland of Thailand because of the mountainous landscapes, this region is really beautiful and pleasant.
The landscapes, as we can see here, are of all splendor.
From here you can see Wat Pharson Kaew...
Superb views... of this welcoming region

 A surprising place on the edge of Route 12

On our first visit (2013) we have already had our eyes full of it since we left Phuket. The kilometres covered pile up, and we do not feel any weariness, on the contrary this long walk is a real pleasure. In spite of the kilometres and the passing days, we are still hungry for discoveries.

A few minutes before arriving here in Khao Kho, we crossed a first mountain range on this excellent road 12, (at 1000m altitude, in the Nam Nao national park) but completely deserted: no house, no petrol station, no living soul for 60km. The signs indicating the presence and the risk of meeting wild elephants worried us slightly but nothing more. In the end, there were no bad encounters today... because running into wild elephants is nothing like the elephants we usually see in tourist attractions.

The following landscape pictures were taken in the Khao Kho area... located in the second mountain range, much less deserted... here, the houses, guest houses, hotels, restaurants are much more present.
We see this façade (photo above) with a big sign... Route 12... we stop here.

When we arrive in this really surprising place, composed of several shops with the same theme: the 60's... I am completely thrilled by the atmosphere, the music played in each shop and which reminds me of my tender years. Wow... the emotion is strong, because I love this kind of place.

So, taken by this nostalgic side, I thought that showing you this place as I discovered it myself, i.e. with music... could be nice. 
So follow the guide in the next step...

On this map you can see the two mountain ranges we crossed... the first one on the right, is the one in the Nam Nao National Park, deserted for 60 kilometres...

Visite du Coffee-Shop en Musique

Medley Oldies 1960-1973
Visit this article by clicking on the button above, you will discover this place as I discovered it myself, that is to say, with music. I was so (pleasantly) surprised after several days of walking and many kilometres to find myself in such a place with this musical atmosphere that reminded me of my tender years ... this music fit so well with the decorations of this coffee shop in addition to the surrounding landscapes ...
My surprise, that day, was really great !

If you like this Medley (mp3 format) and you would like to listen to it at home, you can download it by clicking on the button above....

The visit now begins... 

 Let's take a look inside...

We enter one of the shops that make up this ensemble... 
All the decorations including the objects and gadgets have a direct link with the 60's... as we walk through this place, our ears are lulled by music from this era. 
Even better... in all the shops the same music played by a single amplifier, which avoids cacophony.
Personally I enjoyed this situation so much that I thought it would be good to add a little meddley at the beginning of the article. 
Nous prenons quelques minutes pour boire une tasse de thé local, le fameux thé Oolong... 
In the basement, a small restaurant where we will have lunch with the family. Prices in relation to where we are, i.e. not expensive 
For a man, the fact of going to the pissoir is a natural need on which generally there is no reason to linger... but there, frankly, to be able to do his little need in such a decor, and especially having something else in front of his nose than the traditional tile more or less beautiful, it's still very original and it was worth it in my opinion to put forward this image that I find really surprising.
There's even a Sheriff's office there... the seal, the guns, the boots... but I didn't see the Sheriff's horse... maybe it was out?

You could almost say that this place is at the end of the world....
When you look at the map of Thailand,
it is clear that this place is not necessarily easy to access.... 
This very special coffee shop is located about 85 kilometres from Phitsanulok,
about 60km from Phetchabun and finally 240km from Khon Kaen.

  16°47'28.52 N - 100°59'14.63 E