Road Trip To Isaan

[Crow Boy]

I am coming to Surin from ChiangMai for the TV party and have never been to Isaan before. I will be taking about a week to do the round trip and will be riding my CB150, hey don't laugh I rode the bike after owning it for two days from CM to Malaysia and back. I could go the direct (sort of) route but thought to combine the Party with a tour of sort through the region. I thought along the lines of going Chiang Mai - Phitsaulok on hwy 11 then turning off onto 225 at Nong Bua to Chiayaphum and then Surin. Heading back would be Surin to Ubon Ratchatham then up to Savannakhet. Follow the Mekong all the way back to Chiang Khan and then over the mountains to Uttaradit.

Obviously this is a lot longer than straight up and down the highway but I think it would be a much more interesting way to go. However being too lazy to look up my 10 year old copy of lonely planet I am looking for ideas of places to go and see plus local knowledge of good/bad roads, things to avoid, places to check out.

Any advice will be greatly appreciaed and I will happily buy you a beer at the TV party.

thanks

CB

[Tilapia]

I am coming to Surin from ChiangMai for the TV party and have never been to Isaan before. I will be taking about a week to do the round trip and will be riding my CB150, hey don't laugh I rode the bike after owning it for two days from CM to Malaysia and back. I could go the direct (sort of) route but thought to combine the Party with a tour of sort through the region. I thought along the lines of going Chiang Mai - Phitsaulok on hwy 11 then turning off onto 225 at Nong Bua to Chiayaphum and then Surin. Heading back would be Surin to Ubon Ratchatham then up to Savannakhet. Follow the Mekong all the way back to Chiang Khan and then over the mountains to Uttaradit.

Obviously this is a lot longer than straight up and down the highway but I think it would be a much more interesting way to go. However being too lazy to look up my 10 year old copy of lonely planet I am looking for ideas of places to go and see plus local knowledge of good/bad roads, things to avoid, places to check out.

Any advice will be greatly appreciaed and I will happily buy you a beer at the TV party.

thanks

CB

Hi CB.

I always wanted to follow the border to Laos, and then up that way, via Mukdahan, heard that the girls should be very pretty there , so if you take that route, then you can tell me if it is true when we meet at the party

Cheers

[bergen]

Hi CB

If you have time, I would recommend that you visit Khao Phra Wiharn. This ancient Khmer temple is 300 years older than Ankor Wat, and from a 560 meters cliff offers a magnificent view over the Cambodian plain land.

The ruins are just across the Cambodian border, but is easy to reach from Thailand.

Rd 221 from Sisaket leads you straight south to the temple! - If you're interested I can pm you some more info.

[sutnyod]

YOu can cross into Savannakhet from Mukdaharn. If you want to cross into Laos from Ubon Ratchathani then you'll land in Pakse (well, ALMOST). Personally, I'd prefer the latter route (and have done it numerous times). You CAN make it in one day from Ubon to Vientiane, but pls keep in mind that Lao roads are a bit more dangerous than Thai ones. If you have time along the route, I'd recommend stopovers in Khammouane (to see the karst landscape, but at least the Giant's Wall). Savannakhet is really boring, nothing there.

If you are in a hurry (one never can know after a party ;-)) you can also take the Mekong route on the Thai side via Nakhorn Phanom.

[Crow Boy]

Hi CB

If you have time, I would recommend that you visit Khao Phra Wiharn. This ancient Khmer temple is 300 years older than Ankor Wat, and from a 560 meters cliff offers a magnificent view over the Cambodian plain land.

The ruins are just across the Cambodian border, but is easy to reach from Thailand.

Rd 221 from Sisaket leads you straight south to the temple! - If you're interested I can pm you some more info.

Yes please - not sure of the logistics of taking a bike from Thailand into Cambodia for the side tour to the Ruins. I will have to try to find out if there is a bus to the ruin and then if I can leave my bike (safely) at a guest house on the Thai side.

CB

[sezzo]

You can drive/ride down to about 300 metres from the border and leave your bike in a big tourist type carpark and walk down to the crossover point. The start of the stairs to the temple is about 50 m from the crossover point. No passport/visa required.

Definately worth a visit but get prepared for a steep climb.