Hoping to spend a month in Isaan soon

[Issangeorge]

Kalasin is my favourite town/city, it has a couple of nice lakes for walking around is pretty central so would make a good base for visiting other places, has very little trafic and is small enough you can walk around most of the town and drive from one place to any other place in town in less than ten minutes. There is also some night life.

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[slipperylobster]

Issan to me is a staying in the village .. watching people trying to eek out their monthly donation from their relatives working in Bangkok, getting woken up at 6.30 by your uncle scrounging 40B for Lao-Khaow, Searching for land crabs in the evening, hanging out by the river catching Catfish .. If I were you I would steer clear of the cities, try and find a local with a spare bit of floor space, take your bike and get in the swing of it ( living life in the slow lane )

Sounds like HELL ON EARTH !!

[cardholder]

Nong Khai would be a good place to base yourself as would Ubon.

I had read that Khon Kaen was deemed to be one of the best places for a Farang as it has a bit of everything.

I also like Surin and Buriram.

[Colabamumbai]

Living in Kalasin, Galaseeennn for Thais to understand, I do not consider Udon Thani or Khon Kaen Isaan.

Having sad that my friend there is nothing to do and nothing to see. There is a dinosaur museum in Sahatsakhan and an Aquarium in Roi -Et.

There is a Univesity in Mahasarakham and branches of Uni's here. But unless you want to plant rice or cut sugarcane, I am afraid you will be disappointed.

This is farming country and the towns that surround it support that community, from the tambon or village up to the town. There are no cinemas English or otherwise, no bowling alleys other than a few corporate giants in the food industry, pizza, chicken, ice cream if that is your forte those are the thrills.

The foreigners living here are mostly teaching English 30 some, then there are the married foreigners,, the country side lovers. And next us single for what every reason guys.

Mind you if you like somtam pok pok and some Lao Khao you would fit in well in any of the villages.

Nong Khai is not Isaan....as such, and has an intenational community.

[Colabamumbai]

Issan to me is a staying in the village .. watching people trying to eek out their monthly donation from their relatives working in Bangkok, getting woken up at 6.30 by your uncle scrounging 40B for Lao-Khaow, Searching for land crabs in the evening, hanging out by the river catching Catfish .. If I were you I would steer clear of the cities, try and find a local with a spare bit of floor space, take your bike and get in the swing of it ( living life in the slow lane )

Sounds like HELL ON EARTH !!

Baan Non Sa-at 30 minutes north of khon Kaen, I will introduce you to the farmers. Sahatsakhan, outside of Kalsin I will introduce you to the people. Send us an email I am in Kalasin.

[slipperylobster]

Living in Kalasin, Galaseeennn for Thais to understand, I do not consider Udon Thani or Khon Kaen Isaan.

Having sad that my friend there is nothing to do and nothing to see. There is a dinosaur museum in Sahatsakhan and an Aquarium in Roi -Et.

There is a Univesity in Mahasarakham and branches of Uni's here. But unless you want to plant rice or cut sugarcane, I am afraid you will be disappointed.

This is farming country and the towns that surround it support that community, from the tambon or village up to the town. There are no cinemas English or otherwise, no bowling alleys other than a few corporate giants in the food industry, pizza, chicken, ice cream if that is your forte those are the thrills.

The foreigners living here are mostly teaching English 30 some, then there are the married foreigners,, the country side lovers. And next us single for what every reason guys.

Mind you if you like somtam pok pok and some Lao Khao you would fit in well in any of the villages.

Nong Khai is not Isaan....as such, and has an intenational community.

You may be referring only to the "Towns". The provinces of Udon Thani and Nong Khai are definitely Isaan. Plenty of countryside and farmland and no different in those provinces as any other province...except you have a place to go to on the weekends to break the monotony of country living. I kind of laugh when people get confused on the "Cities" being named after the "Provinces"...but live and learn

[Artist]

I have a small arts guest house on the Mekong at Phon Phisai which is near Nong Khai. I have lived in a small village nearby on and off for nearly 10 years and as far as I am concerned this is "the real Isaan". I love the place the people and everything about it, so I would go to Nong Khai. You can read about the area in my website thailand-painting-holidays.com. If you go that way call in and see us, we are there from the beginning of October to the end of January.

[Muhendis]

The only place that can satisfy you after Chianmai/rai has to be Buri Ram Muang. It is a thriving, farming town with plenty of banks. There are shops that sell rope by the kilo and a market selling everything including edible live fish. There are a few Farang places (sparsely populated), a good sized bus station and, I am told, a night venue. Most people retire to their villages to relax, drink unpalatable whisky, and talk in the evenings.

Go and enjoy...........

[Anon999]

Smallish town would be Roi Et, it's bigger than Kalasin and Maha Sarakham and not far away from them. It's also quite pleasant with the artificial lake in the centre. Has a fair number of farangs, some decent restaurants and of course farang watering holes. There is a Museum, aquirium and the tallest Buddha statue in Thailand that you can walk part way up inside and a cinema, etc. Reasonable number of hotels and is basically in the centre of Isaan. There is also a sports stadium a couple of places that can loosely be called gyms and a fairly successful football team too. On the Isaan website there is a lot of information and also about the various cities. You'll also find a copies of the monthly Roi Et Expat Newsletter.

Smallish town, I think. Nightlife isn't a major concern.

Edited August 29, 2013 by Anon999

[Muhendis]

Smallish town would be Roi Et, it's bigger than Kalasin and Maha Sarakham and not far away from them. It's also quite pleasant with the artificial lake in the centre. Has a fair number of farangs, some decent restaurants and of course farang watering holes. There is a Museum, aquirium and the tallest Buddha statue in Thailand that you can walk part way up inside and a cinema, etc. Reasonable number of hotels and is basically in the centre of Isaan. There is also a sports stadium a couple of places that can loosely be called gyms and a fairly successful football team too. On the Isaan website there is a lot of information and also about the various cities. You'll also find a copies of the monthly Roi Et Expat Newsletter.

Smallish town, I think. Nightlife isn't a major concern.

Successful football team?

I saw them thrashed at Thunder Castle (home of Buriram United)

[Bpuumike]

Smallish town would be Roi Et, it's bigger than Kalasin and Maha Sarakham and not far away from them. It's also quite pleasant with the artificial lake in the centre. Has a fair number of farangs, some decent restaurants and of course farang watering holes. There is a Museum, aquirium and the tallest Buddha statue in Thailand that you can walk part way up inside and a cinema, etc. Reasonable number of hotels and is basically in the centre of Isaan. There is also a sports stadium a couple of places that can loosely be called gyms and a fairly successful football team too. On the Isaan website there is a lot of information and also about the various cities. You'll also find a copies of the monthly Roi Et Expat Newsletter.

Smallish town, I think. Nightlife isn't a major concern.

I think Roi Et is the best layed-out and attractive town/city in all of Thailand.

Lots of interesting architecture and temples and everything else you need.

20 mins away and you are in pure Isaan countryside.

[KuhnPaen]

Sisaket is sleepy as hell but has something genuine and Isaan-attractive about it. Surin is ok too going up a notch in size and facilities. Personally, were I to live in a town, I would prefer Ubon with its bigger town mentality, broader nightlife & restaurants (including Thai variants) and its excellent air links.

Khon Kaen's been nice to visit. Udon sounds beyond the pale (from an over-supply of falangs viewpoint) but that's unfair as I've only ever driven around it. Korat/Buriram never been. You need to do a tour first - nobody's recommendations are going to sync with yours, unless you are into drinking in foreigner bars and chasing falang-friendly wenches in which case Udon, as written up in ThaiV, seems to be the no1 choice.

Be careful of your 'b's and 'd's when on this subject! Ubon / Udon - big difference locked up in that one letter.

I concur. Sisaket is the main town, but the outlying villages like Kantharalak http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kantharalak_District, are very chill. It is also nearby the disputed temples between Thailand and Cambodia. it is not uncommon to see bomb shelters made from cement and sandbags in peoples backyards here. When I was living there I could here the 105mm artillery rounds that were landing in the distance (Cambodia was shelling the area around my GF's house), so the family just hopped in the pick up and drove further inland and I had to spring for a hotel.

Other than bucolic scenery, and swatting mosquitoes, there's not a whole lot to do out there (so I wrote a novel and read tons of books). When it rains, the power can go out for a couple days before it comes back on. Beautiful women in that area too. The Eastern Thai/Khmer look in that region is fairly unique in LOS. Very dark skin (almost black), and sweet dispositions. If i ever walked around the village without my GF, I was constantly invited over to peoples houses to drink, eat, talk (I learned Isaan over 2 years), and play cards. Also, the sky at night is unreal. I never saw so many stars in my life. Made me feel like I was living hundreds of years ago.

Just thinking about it again makes me want to go back. An absolutely timeless and wonderful place.

[marquis22]

I suggest Kalasin and Loeng Nok Tha, spent 2 weeks in each myself.

Very typical Isaan mid size cities and not many farang unless you want to go look for them.

Go by bus and it is much better if you know one of the locals who has a car tho.(The side benefits are greater too, ahhhhh the memories.........................)

Then you get taken to all the better places to visit, the wildlife parks and perhaps a local out of town school if she is a teacher as it is great to spend a day or two talking English to the kids. The most fascinating experience is sitting in on a local presentation day (25km out of Kalasin) run by a school for older residents. For them to have a farang interested in attending is something special.

Visit a local Wat as the monks who have not had much contact with farang love to show you how they have learnt some English,

[songhklasid]

Yes visit several, I can recommend paradise ubon, (T C bar) for a cold beer with friendly expats, then bus north to mukdahan, seafood restaurants by riverside, riverside markets, nong khai, another mekong river gem, beer bars,Nakon phranom, again another riverside gem, 5 min boat ride to laos (tha kaek)

happy travelling

songhklasid.

[dao16]

Have been more or less across all of Isaan and the countryside life is never far away. Just do some research into the cities and pick one as a base. Then you can get out and see nearby villages, temples or other sites. Most of these "cities" are just blips in a vast network of villages, so it rarely takes more than 5 minutes to be out in the rice fields staring at buffaloes. Ubon, Korat and Khon Khaen are a little busier and expansive, so they take a little longer to escape. Places like Sisaket, Surin, NongKhai and Buriram are just minutes from pure countryside, whether by car, motorbike or bicycle.

Have fun, but consider bringing along some transportation, even if just a bicycle or a motorbike. When you are on the train line, you can always just chuck the bike on the train and relax until the next city (as long as you have all the paperwork for the motorbike...bicycles, just check it in....has always been cheap).

Also, if you want to sleep out in the sticks, there are usually "resorts" in small towns or just outside of them (usually). They are usually somewhere in the 300-400 baht range and have Isaan food.

[klikster]

How about Khao Yai? Biggest National Park in Thailand. Access from 5 different provinces, I believe. WILD animals, mountains, campgrounds marked nature trails. Waterfalls, wilderness, campgrounds, food service. Watch out for pissed-off elephants!

[larsstig]

I agree with post #21, it is a nice trip. I would add one town though:

I would recommend the Chiang Khan to Nakon Phanom river route. Can be done by bus at a leisurely pace. Stops to make would be;

Loei

Chiang Khan

Sangkhom (buoys guest house)

Sri Chiang Mai

Nong Khai (mut mee guest house)

Pak Khat (Kongkhamkoon Hotel, located on Mekong river brink)

Bueng Kan (visit wat phu tok)

Nakhon Phanom (visit wat taat phanom)

[thehelmsman]

How does Sakon Nakhon size up as a place to hang out as compared to the other cities talked about??

[Issangeorge]

I don't know about the night life, but Sakon Nakhon has all the western shopping conviences. Therr are a couple of lakes and I believe a Golf Course. Take your car with you, because it is a little isolated and a lot of the neat attractions are out of the city in the mountains.

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[DILLIGAD]

The only place that can satisfy you after Chianmai/rai has to be Buri Ram Muang. It is a thriving, farming town with plenty of banks. There are shops that sell rope by the kilo and a market selling everything including edible live fish. There are a few Farang places (sparsely populated), a good sized bus station and, I am told, a night venue. Most people retire to their villages to relax, drink unpalatable whisky, and talk in the evenings.

Go and enjoy...........

Muhendis, if you have ever thought about going into marketing................

DON'T!

Edited September 5, 2013 by DILLIGAD

[Muhendis]

Hey Dilligad. I take it you won't be coming?

In that case I've done an excellent marketing job....

[rct99q]

Not promoting any products but if looking for information in regards to Nong Khai (ie city/province) check out www.mutmee.com or www.nongkhaitours.com both have plenty of info on the region.

Ps -i am in no way endorsing either but they have excellent , info...although mutmee is a great hangout.

[Artist]

Not promoting any products but if looking for information in regards to Nong Khai (ie city/province) check out www.mutmee.com or www.nongkhaitours.com both have plenty of info on the region.

Ps -i am in no way endorsing either but they have excellent , info...although mutmee is a great hangout.

Thanks for the links. I am promoting a product which is our guest house on the banks of the Mekong in Phon Phisai not far from Nong Khai. Both the websites you suggested are valuable but ours at thailand-painting-holidays.com has even more information about the area.

Our guest house is very small. This is our first year of operation and we can only take 4 or 5 people at a time.

I am a professional artist you can see my work at jeremyholton.com and I teach art and photography at the guest house. However, many of our guests come to experience the wonderful rural culture of Isaan. We provide transport from the airport in Udon Thani or train station in Nong Khai, full board and take our guests to my wife's village, regional landmarks etc. Depending on what's going on at the time of their visit we also take people to village weddings, monk making ceremonies, song and dance shows whenever we can.

So we may not suit the intrepid loners in this site, but we are ideal for first time visitors, or anybody who wants to an introduction to rural Thailand and have somebody show them around.

Edited September 6, 2013 by Artist

[longstebe]

How does Sakon Nakhon size up as a place to hang out as compared to the other cities talked about??

We have the 'golden pond' night club which is usually full of students. There are some other bar/restaurant type places which are fine. As for things to see apart from the usual temples, nong han and phu phan national park which is not far from me, is worth a visit.

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