Korat ?'s

[Jeff1]

Hello all,

Im not really sure if Korat is thought of as Isaan or not . I guess it depends on who you talk to I was wondering about a few things any help would be great :

Is there any nightlife here ?? There must be , but where ? Places like Bars, restaurants, adult type fun. From what I have seen so far is that they pretty much roll up the sidewalks at 8:30 but I have not been here that long.

Thanks

[mouse]

Many of the young women of Korat live in Pattaya and Bangkok and I suspect they commute home on holidays etc to visit their families. No joke! Ask around in Pattaya where the girls come from and you will find this to be factual, or so it sems to me.

[Mason45]

Mouse is correct,Ive lived in Pattaya for 12 years with my Korat wife.The majority of girls in Pattaya and Bangkok are from Korat,Surin and Buriram.There is a bar at KS Pavillion Hotel,in the car park,not far from The Mall Shopping Centre,the drinks and food are reasonably priced and they have a live band.

[Jeff1]

Thanks for the replies,

I will hunt that place down.

I asked my wife if there was a nice sit down inside restaurant somewhere in Korat and she said you mean like Big C ? I said NO, more nice she said OH, the Mall! She's no help

Jeff

[peteypie]

Hello Jeff1. I lived happily in Korat (The seconded largest city in Thailand and the capitol city of the Isaan region) for a couple of years. By your comments, I'm wondering if you were actually in Korat or not!? It has some great pubs and bars that stay open until the early hours. The restaurants are the best you'll find outside of bangkok (If not better as the food is cheaper and easily as good) A couple of places that I used to go to regularly are the 'Bulay Saloon' on the eastern side of the old city, any tuk tuk driver will know it, and 'Ban Korat' a couple of streets further south of the Bula Saloon. The Bulay Saloon has a resident 4 piece band who do covers in English, with a fantastic female guitarist/singer. They also have a pool table, serve good food and all the booze you need. Ban Korat is more of a local's place but you'll be more than welcomed. They have Thai bands on, who play great Thai covers and other soloists who specialize in Isaan songs. Again, good food and booze and a lively atmosphere. As for eating out, there is Steak Jim Jao on the same road as Ban Korat but back towards the city centre. If your young (ie mid-twenties) then head out to the main road that passes Rajabhat Korat. This is full of bars and restaurants catering for the students. If you're older, you can try places like The Magic of Food on the way towards the main railway station. Here you have older single women and good music again. If you're just in town to get your rocks off, then opposite Klang Plaza is Ginza Palace, the best knocking shop in town. On the same street are loads of restaurants and bars. On weekends, you can head out to Bung Talua for the horse racing (Yes! Korat has it's own race track) and when you've watched the races you can watch the ladies jogging around the bung. You got ten-pin bowling in both Klang Plaza and The Mall, 4 outdoor swimming pools, sports centers galour and the best looking women in Thailand, bar none. What more could a man want? Forget Chiang Mai and Bangkok, Korat is the center of the universe. Enjoy.

[Jeff1]

Thanks Petypie,

You are a wealth of information and I thank you sir. ( sorry if your not a sir ! )

Most of those places I have not seen ( yet ) I will print this out for sure .

Im here ( korat ) now . My wife moved away from the area a long time ago so she is as clueless as I . I agree compleatly with your statements . I did find the " Ginza " but she wont let me go in

Take care

[ajahnlau]

Peteypie; How do you figure Korat as the second largest city?

[Jeff1]

To too have heard that Korat is the second largest city but I lost count. I will start over tomorrow.

Petypie would you mind if I P.M.ed you ?

[peteypie]

Hello Ajahnlau, Yes, strange but true. Even though most people think that Chiang Mai is the centre of the universe, after the ###### hole of Bangkok that is, Korat is in fact a BIG city! Check www.nso.go.th/pop2000/finalrep for the results of the last census. I don't think things have changed so much, if they have, Korat has in fact got even bigger. I'm sure that you are aware that Korat (Nakonratchasima) province is the BIGGEST province in Thailand. In the 2000 census (the last full census) 2,556,300 people lived in the province. Of those, 21% or 536,823, lived within the official city boundary of Korat. Chiang Mai province had 1,500,100 people, of which 26% or a mere 405,027 lived within the official city boundary. So, unless the government statistics office is wrong (always a chance of that) Korat is in fact the second largest city, by population, after Bangkok.

[dutch]

and we have almost the smallest local forum.

[peteypie]

Jeff1, Yes, no problem about PMing me. I think we have to go through the ###### though?... Hello ######, you out there?

[Jeff1]

Thank's Pete,

I will be returning to MY computer in 2 weeks and I wont have to use this internet shop anymore. (one of the few things here I wont miss ) Then I will P.M. you in detail. Thank's again.

Jeff

[ajahnlau]

Peteypie you're absolutely right on the population. Just assumed Cm would be 2nd. Surprised at some of the other cities nos. as well.

[bangsaen bob]

I've got quite a few friends who live in Korat. One guy, Irish had an Irish Bar next to the Simi Thani hotel on the main highway that runs through town. You might check it out.

[Jeff1]

Thanks Bob,

Good to know, After my post I did get a chance to go exploring a few time's. I did

not get that far But alot of places are near hotels. The one I found myself in most

was the one on the bottom floor of the mall. Very nice , but noisy. Food about a 5

but good prices for beer. Made a few new friends too.

Thanks again,

Jeff

[ThaiFarmer]

As far as I can see Korat is number 5!!! Samut Prakan is number 2!!

Poor Chiang Mai is only number 8.

And, besides, it's Udon Thani (number 4) that is the centre of the world. I know! It's in that area I'm going to live in a few years....... It will be my centre .

This is where I found it:

http://www.gazetteer.de/c/c_th.htm#pl_100

The list below is slightly difficult to read here.

Thailand 2004

Cities and Places

(population in [1000])

rank Place Administrative Division Pop. 1990 Pop. 2000 Pop. 2004 Aggl. 2004 Latitude Longitude

28 Ayutthaya Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya 75.9 80.6 14.36°N 100.57°E

35 Bang Kruai Nonthaburi 60.7 64.4 Krung Thep 13.81°N 100.45°E

46 Ban Pong Ratchaburi 51.4 54.5 13.81°N 99.87°E

39 Chaiyaphum Chaiyaphum 53.9 57.2 15.80°N 102.04°E

22 Chanthaburi Chanthaburi 86.4 91.7 12.61°N 102.11°E

8 Chiang Mai Chiang Mai 164.9 167.8 178.1 18.80°N 98.98°E

37 Chiang Rai Chiang Rai 59.3 62.9 19.91°N 99.83°E

7 Chon Buri Chon Buri 187.0 182.6 193.9 13.40°N 101.00°E

48 Chumphon Chumphon 48.5 51.5 10.51°N 99.19°E

6 Hat Yai Songkhla 141.5 185.6 197.0 7.00°N 100.47°E

43 Kanchanaburi Kanchanaburi 38.1 52.1 55.3 14.02°N 99.53°E

20 Khlong Luang Pathum Thani 103.3 109.6 Krung Thep 14.07°N 100.65°E

13 Khon Kaen Khon Kaen 132.1 141.0 149.7 16.42°N 102.83°E

47 Klaeng Rayong 49.8 52.8 12.78°N 101.65°E

26 Krathum Baen Samut Sakhon 78.4 83.3 13.65°N 100.27°E

1 Krung Thep Krung Thep 5546.9 6320.2 6709.2 8970.2 13.73°N 100.50°E

40 Lam Luk Ka Pathum Thani 52.9 56.1 13.93°N 100.75°E

10 Lampang Lampang 147.8 156.9 18.29°N 99.48°E

38 Lop Buri Lop Buri 54.0 57.3 14.80°N 100.62°E

44 Maha Sarakham Maha Sarakham 51.9 55.1 16.18°N 103.29°E

14 Nakhon Pathom Nakhon Pathom 120.7 128.1 13.82°N 100.06°E

5 Nakhon Ratchasima Nakhon Ratchasima 204.1 204.4 217.0 15.00°N 102.10°E

21 Nakhon Sawan Nakhon Sawan 91.6 97.2 15.70°N 100.07°E

15 Nakhon Si Thammarat Nakhon Si Thammarat 118.8 126.1 8.40°N 99.97°E

36 Nong Khai Nong Khai 59.7 63.4 17.88°N 102.74°E

3 Nonthaburi Nonthaburi 258.6 291.3 309.2 Krung Thep 13.80°N 100.18°E

49 Pak Chong Nakhon Ratchasima 42.9 48.0 50.9 14.70°N 101.41°E

11 Pak Kret Nonthaburi 141.8 150.5 Krung Thep 13.90°N 100.51°E

27 Pattaya Chon Buri 62.4 76.9 81.6 12.92°N 100.90°E

23 Phitsanulok Phitsanulok 78.4 84.3 89.5 16.82°N 100.27°E

9 Phra Pradaeng Samut Prakan 166.8 177.1 Krung Thep 13.67°N 100.53°E

32 Phuket Phuket 45.6 66.7 70.8 7.88°N 98.38°E

25 Ratchaburi Ratchaburi 45.5 82.5 87.6 13.54°N 99.82°E

18 Rayong Rayong 106.6 113.1 12.68°N 101.28°E

34 Sakhon Nakhon Sakon Nakhon 65.7 69.8 17.17°N 104.15°E

2 Samut Prakan Samut Prakan 378.7 402.0 Krung Thep 13.61°N 100.61°E

30 Samut Sakhon Samut Sakhon 55.6 68.4 72.6 Krung Thep 13.54°N 100.28°E

31 Saraburi Saraburi 65.0 67.8 72.0 14.53°N 100.88°E

45 Sattahip Chon Buri 51.7 54.9 12.67°N 100.90°E

12 Si Racha Chon Buri 141.3 150.0 13.16°N 100.93°E

24 Songkhla Songkhla 83.1 84.1 89.3 7.21°N 100.56°E

42 Suphan Buri Suphan Buri 52.6 55.8 14.47°N 100.13°E

16 Surat Thani Surat Thani 111.3 123.1 9.14°N 99.33°E

17 Thanyaburi Pathum Thani 113.8 120.8 Krung Thep 14.02°N 100.71°E

33 Trang Trang 64.6 69.8 7.56°N 99.61°E

19 Ubon Ratchathani Ubon Ratchathani 98.8 106.6 113.1 15.25°N 104.83°E

4 Udon Thani Udon Thani 220.5 234.1 17.41°N 102.79°E

41 Uttaradit Uttaradit 52.8 56.1 17.63°N 100.10°E

29 Yala Yala 68.8 74.1 78.6 6.55°N 101.29°E

[cutethaigirl]

Hi

Not a dig just our findings.

We visited Korat last week courtesey of Air Asia who appear to have the ONLY flight in and out each day.

Was quite lovely as 18 people on the plane does make for a nice flight:-)

Stayed at a place calle Chayprayoa Hotel at 450 for a nice room.

Went in search of food. No joke could not find any, inside the moat!

Eventually ate at a Kaow Mon Gai place 45 yds from the Hotel. TEN bahts a plate. Had 7 between us!. Great chat with the owner that wanted to know all about how to make more profit. Straight Up. Cool.

We asked several people what there was to do in Korat and ALL said the same thing. Bearing in mind these were native Koratians....Go to Pimai!!!!

Next day after giving up trying to find an internet cafe that could SEND email not via Hotmail we asked about and founf the Mall. All jolly nice but hardly a cultural experience!

The road through Korat outside the Mall seems very busy with people passing through!!

THere are a lot of buses to BKK as well. Indicating the post above about Pattaya. I have heard Korat as the answer to where do you come from many times in Pattaya.

Another thing that we noticed is that there is a unproportional amount of gold shops in Korat. All fully stocked. That may indicate that the money being made in Pattaya is 'invested' in Korat??

In the evening ate 47 yards from the Hotel at an adequate Chinese owned place. Walked for an hour and could only find unsuitable Karaoke bars. Asked about and no one could advise any different.

We went to Korat to have a bit of food, see the sights, natural ones, have a beer together and not visit shopping centres.

We did all the above but what to do after the first 4 hours was more difficult.

I live in C. Mai and for a Thai or foreign tourist you can not do it all in a month.

Korat may be the 2nd largest city but if it is trying to promote tourism and or comerce in our opinion it is failing.

It was ok but certainly nothing would prompt a second visit. Not even the 99 baht airfare!

There you go unbiased factual reporting

CT

[singa-traz]

You could have visited Dan Kwian, 30 minutes south of Korat.

http://thailandforvisitors.com/isan/korat/dankwian.html

Last time went there, I visited one of the factory where they make the Ceramics.

One worker explained us the different stages of fabrication, while we were visiting the place.

[cutethaigirl]

singa-traz

Yes read about that another place 30 k's OUTSIDE Korat.

CT

[mango head]

We asked several people what there was to do in Korat and ALL said the same thing. Bearing in mind these were native Koratians....Go to Pimai!!!!

CT

that's where i would've told you to go, and i'm a farang

seriously though, korat has a very nice zoo and many good places to eat in the area.

tourisim authority of thailand has a good website.

no excuse for anybody to go anywhere in thailand and complain that there's nothing to do.

[cutethaigirl]

We tried but go to another city when asking what to do in the one we were in.

Ask me what to do in CM for example and the list goes on and on but it does not include going to Chiang Rai:-)

Checked a few websites pre arrival and all said the same thing. Pimai and Dan Kwiang. Scary!

What does the TAT's say.....can only guess.

Sorry but was at a loss to find something to amuse for a few days away.

Part of travelling about Thailand is to see interesting sights and there are no shortage. Have been to about 55 Provinces but afraid Korat was hard to enjoy.

As i said not a dig just a factual report on two days in Korat.

We are not looking for willd like BKK, but a bit of fun and some sights. Struggled.

the Mall has lots of pretty shops and a dismal selection of eateries unless Daidom, BBQ KIng? and Pizza count. THe food court was ok 'ish.

I am saying we struggled.

Best

CT

[mango head]

We tried but go to another city when asking what to do in the one we were in.

Ask me what to do in CM for example and the list goes on and on but it does not include going to Chiang Rai:-)

Checked a few websites pre arrival and all said the same thing. Pimai and Dan Kwiang. Scary!

What does the TAT's say.....can only guess.

Sorry but was at a loss to find something to amuse for a few days away.

Part of travelling about Thailand is to see interesting sights and there are no shortage. Have been to about 55 Provinces but afraid Korat was hard to enjoy.

As i said not a dig just a factual report on two days in Korat.

We are not looking for willd like BKK, but a bit of fun and some sights. Struggled.

the Mall has lots of pretty shops and a dismal selection of eateries unless Daidom, BBQ KIng? and Pizza count. THe food court was ok 'ish.

I am saying we struggled.

Best

CT

to each his own.i myself tend to direct my activities towards more family oriented

venues of entertainment.

i'm sorry the good people of korat didn't have the foresight to build a giant entertainment complex to help you with your boredom when visiting their good city. i find plenty of fun things to do in korat. i suspect that you were too lazy to do any research into the area before coming to nakohn ratchasima,you shouldn't rely on other people to fulfill your happiness.

oh, and by the way, this is not a dig at you personally, just factual observation from the content of your posts.

[cutethaigirl]

Mango Head

That is pathetic and about as far from reality as it gets.

A Museum, beautiful temple, lake, nature trail etc. Did i mention entertainment complexes.

Did plenty of looking and reading prior to visiting. Thanks

No more posts from me on the topic.

Posted to ask and give factual findings not to be abused.

[dutch]

cutethaig.mangohead

I think the truth is always in the middle.

I agree with cute about her observation.

Korat is simply not a tourist destination.To be there and to live there as milions of people around the world are living in their cities,is quite comfortable.

Very happy it is not like BKK or CM, but that is why my house is in Korat and not there!

Peace

[mango head]

Posted to ask and give factual findings not to be abused.

i didn't abuse you. i put in the same disclaimer you did.if you feel abused then i'm sorry. maybe the good people of korat might feel you abused them by knocking their city. i like korat and always find something to do there. just because you weren't "entertained" doesn't mean you should condemn nakohn ratchasima.

all i ask is that you refrain from making negative comments about the area that i live. if it was so bad, would so many people live there?

[dutch]

cutethaig.

Mangohead is right.My wife was a little bit annoyed at your message about Korat.She looked on the internet and found http://www.korat.in.th. On my arrival home last night she handed to me with the message, that you could have found easily the same! (The YOU is you cutethaig)

BTW , what do you expect from cities not belonging to the big tourist destinations?

[Jeff1]

For being so big , it IS off the beaten tourist track.

I do like that. BKK is to crazy for me and I would surely die if I lived there,

When I started this thread I was in Korat for only 2 weeks and was at a loss for

some fun places to be found. I did find some very nice places to go to. ( with some help from the wonderful forum members ) But again I find myself agreeing with cute

to an extent, if she was only there for two days, it is not enough time to find alot of what Korat has to offer. My wife's family lives about an hour away and I must admit they look forward to their visits to the big city For her , and my sanity

I will call Korat my home, No regret's.

Please excuse my spelling , I came home late

Best wishes to you all,

Jeff

p.s. Dutch , are we still on for the 19th hole ?

[Flipper]

Hi all Koratians and those who come to visit.

Korat does have plenty to offer, as a town and province. Though have been in/through numerous small and large bars in the town, I fail to remember the names of most! DuwanDaeng Sasaendeun (?sp) near the Pailin Centre is a very popular larger restaurant bar place with excellent local music. For farangs, be prepared, you are likely to be the only pale-face in the area, but hey - isn't that why you are here? Korat is definately a 'songs-for-life' music centre of Thailand - both Caravan and Carabou grew up and originated here and frequently play.

OK, so the town doesn't have the architecture of other places so in the day time head out.

Dan Kwian - fascinating to visit and to see the artisans at work

Phi Mai - if you haven't been, then go.

Ban Phrasaat - on the way to Phi Mai, a lovely traditional Thai village where you can see silks and rush mats being made as well as visit the archaelogical dig to see how Thailand has changed int he last 3000years.

Head south or west towards the national parks of Tap Lan, Pangsida and Khao Yai. The area around the latter being the resort capital of Thailand (or so it seems!) and there is lots to do in the form of adventure and other activities (rafting, wall climbing, hiking, wildlife safaris, golf, paintball, quadbiking, agricultural tours, vineyards and wine tasting to name but a few).

So Korat is big, its full of people, but it has been slow on the tourism uptake in the past. But it is catching up - for good or bad!

If you look, it is all there.

And I am sure Chiang Mai is lovely too

[40theives]

Just took a trip with 3 buddies to Korat, and must thank peteypie for his informative post. Drove up in about 3 hours. We stayed at the Chophaya Inn for 450 a night. Air and UBC. Nice choice cause it was right across from Fun Factory or "The Fun" as it's called there - and Ginza Entertainment. Getting trashed there is an easy stumble home.

The Beule Cafe was dead when we went, but is suppose to be good.

If you are going to Korat - consider the twice a year Cobra operations by the US military. You may or may not want to be in the town when a couple thousand US military dudes are there.

The most noteable part of the trip was the Mexican restaurant Big Chilli on Chakkree Rd. The best Mexican I have had in Thailand (and I have tried at least 7 others). The owner, Wes, is a Thai guy that used to live in Kansas City. Also if you haven't heard satallite radio yet, he's got it.

Speed2 (bigger and louder) and Fun Factory are the local clubs and quite big. These are "dance around a bottle of whiskey on a table" clubs with some pretty good entertainment.

The Mall was quite good, as was the swimming pool for 80 baht, athough mostly a kiddy hang out.

We flew back on from the Korat airport which is about 30 km from town (likely built on land Taksin & Co own). Flights are 400-600 baht one way. Check Air Asia for details.

[Willi_S]

"blue-sky"-bar in the road behind DawanDeang

funny mini-bikes by "lotus/tesco"

the swimming and fun area in "the Mall" shopping-center