Dinosaurs in the Mall

From the town it is easy to reach several attractions in Isaan in a few hours’ travel. Khon Kaen is famous in Thailand for its dinosaurs and the Phuwiang National Park is 90km to the northwest and invites a whole day trip to the far past. Chiang Khan is a wonderful riverside town drowning in foliage; it has several guesthouses and you can comfortably stay there for a couple of days. Lom Sak and Loei are good bases while visiting several national parks around them, like Phu Kradong, Nam Nao, Phu Hin Rongkla, and Phu Reua. The attractions include a moon-valley, wild large mammals, rare birds that are somewhat hard to spot, and relics from the Thai communist guerrillas who were active here in the far past. Mahasarakam, Roi Et, and Kalsin, to the east, are rural towns that offer wonderful samples of the Isaan cuisine, especially in the mango season. Yasothon is famous for its rocket festival in May. Khon Kaen itself offers high-quality silk, a lively night bazaar, a museum, and the famous Wat Nongwang in the southern part of the town.

Quick Tips:

Klang Muang Road, the second street east of the bus terminal, hosts several guesthouses. Due to the large number of people crossing this transport hub, usually it is difficult to find a place if you arrive in the late afternoon. That is the usual case with the popular Saen Samran Hotel at Klang Muang 55-9, which offers fan single rooms from 150 to 200B. The renovated Roma hotel asks for 230 to 400B, the Khon Kaen Hotel 500B, and the Pongin Mantion 200 to 350B, and all of them are along Klang Muang. The Rossukond Hotel is at the junction of Glang Muang with Prachasamosorn (the main avenue) and asks for 550B.

Eastern Isaan, terrain east of Highway 2, offers several big towns that may be considered as overnight stops: Nakhon Phanom, Sakhon Nakhon, Ubon Ratchathani, Mukdahan, and others, while Western Isaan is more rural in nature and even towns like Chiang Khan, Loei and Lom Sak offer just minimal accommodations. To explore this last area, you may consider day trips from Khon Kaen.

There are consulates from Laos and Vietnam in the town, but it is more convenient to issue your visas while in Bangkok.

Best Way To Get Around:

As Khorat is to its south and Udon Thani to its north, Khon Kaen sits on Highway 2 that connects Bangkok with Vientiane in Laos. That and its central location in Isaan transform Khon Kaen into an exceptionally well-connected place. Beside the obvious buses along Isaan’s main axis, there are buses to all the main towns in Isaan. Khon Kaen offers an excellent opportunity to shorten your connection with northern Thailand through highway 12, using the direct buses from the terminal to Chiang Mai. You can break your journey with stops at Lom Sak or Phitanulok. Lom Sak is at the limit between Isaan and Northern Thailand, and Phitanulok is an important city in northern Thailand and hosts one of the most sacred (and impressive) Buddha statues in the kingdom. If you wish to travel along Highway 2, there are buses in both directions at all times: all the night buses from Bangkok and Nong Khai stop here, and if they have space, they do collect passengers. Despite the many options of public transport within the city, if you are not in a hurry, then the best way to move around is by foot, since most of the attractions are close to the center and the town is surprisingly not congested and pleasant.

Udon Thani is the last city along the Thai Highway 2, which crosses all the northeastern of Thailand up to the town of Nong Khai and the Friendship Bridge over the Mekong River to Laos. Because of this location, few choose the town as more than a night stop.

Food

Being so close to Isaan’s heart, culinary jewels exist in every Udon Thani food stall and mall. A testimony to that richness is the ambulant fruit stalls, which are double in size than in the rest of Thailand; the extra storage room allows them to hold up to ten different types of fruits; some of them are hard to find elsewhere.

Robinson Mall

The best opportunity in Udon to forget for a while the green Eden waiting outside, is the Robinson Mall, which is in clear sight from the main bus terminal, just across the big junction.

Its food plaza offers an incredible food variety. As in most modern Asian malls, it resembles a traditional Asian Food Market, where each shop specializes in very few dishes. Buying a whole meal at one stall is not possible; the idea is wandering around while creating the ultimate meal dish by dish. The method is simple: coupons are bought at a central spot and they can be exchanged for food at any stall.

This is the only place in Thailand where I spotted a variation of Ice Kachang, a popular Singaporean dessert which is ideal in the hot weather: beans, corn and colorful jelly put upon grounded ice.

The rest of the mall offers everything expected from such a place – including a cup of espresso; spending a couple of hours exploring its wonders is an attractive option before ending the day at the nearby Night Market on Thanon Prajak.

Hotels and Guesthouses

There are several hotels and guesthouses but the first are overprized and usually offer doubtful extra-services and the second are of extremely low quality; maybe that is the result of Udon Thani being entrapped between Khon Kaen and Nong Khai – both of them are close, well connected and offer better deals.

Traveling Around

The buses timetable is an important thing while in a transport hub; here are partial details of the first and last buses to the main destinations served from Udon Thani.

N: means normal bus; A1: air-conditioned class 1; A2: air conditioned class 2, S: Secondary Terminal. VIP buses crossing the town with unoccupied seats collect passengers.

Bangkok: N 04:00-19:50
Ban Pai: N 14:50-17:50
Ban Phang: N 06:20-14:20
Bung Kan: N 04:20-16:40
Chaiyaphum: A2 08:00-16:00
Kalasin: N 05:30-16:30
Kamtakla: N 04:30-18:30 A2 06:20-06:40
Khon Kaen: N 05:48-17:45
Khorat: N 04:45-15:40; A2 07:30-15:20
Nakhon Phanom: N 05:00-08:40; A2 05:30-14:45
Nong Khai: S every hour during the day and from main terminal with passing buses.
Nong Khai: A2 11:00-19:00
Phitsanoluk: S 7:00-18:25.
Rayong: N 12:00-19:00; A 27:40-20:00
Roi Et: N 05:25-14:24
Sakon Nakhon: N 04:00-18:10; A2 07:00-16:10
Srichiangmai: N 11:30-15:30
Ubon: A1 07:00-21:15 A2 12:00-14:00 V 20:00-21:00

Location

In eastern Isaan’s heart and on the Khorat Plateau is the town of Sakon Nakhon, which is usually overlooked due to its more famous and accessible neighbors along the Mekong River and Highway 2.

However, Sakon Nakhon is a perfect place from where to reach Nakhon Phanom, That Phanom and Mukdahan as well as relatively near to Udon Thani (155km) on Highway 2.

Rationale

The reason why Sakon Nakhon should be considered as a base for exploring the area is that the town has the best infrastructure among the listed towns as well as a beautiful setup despite being away from the mighty Mekong.

Even the entrance to the town is somewhat singular with an enormous welcome gate and a circular church. Making day trips to the above mentioned cities along the Thai Mekong River is possible.

The few foreign tourists approaching the town give it additional value for the solitary traveler; the town hadn’t lost yet its traditional Thai values and look.

Hotel Dusit

Contributing to the town’s relaxing surroundings are several good hotels. The Dusit, on Yuwapattana Road, at the very center of the town, is worth mentioning. For 350B it offers single rooms with air conditioner and a constant hot water supply from central heaters and for a total of 800B, a refrigerator and a breakfast would be included to the deal. The hotel does not belong to the famous and luxurious Thai hotels’ network of the same name.

7 Eleven

There are three 7 Eleven branches in town, each capable of supplying the most immediate needs of the demanding traveler; this is especially important while traveling in Isaan, since not every basic western toiletry item is available in Thai drugstores.

Nong Han Lake and other Attractions

The Saphang Thong Park separates the beautiful Nong Han Lake from the city’s southern border. The Nong Han Lake is the biggest in Isaan; it receives water from the southern Phu Phan Mountains through the Nam Pung River. The Huai Nam Khan River takes water excesses from the shallow lake to the Mekong River; extensive fishing is practiced on it.

The adjacent park is an incredible sight in a Thai town of this size. Long patches of well-cared grass among narrow cement ways and water canals create a paradise for joggers of all ages, which enjoy it day and night. However, not everything is perfect in paradise; a traditional wood bridge over one of the canals was coated with a thick layer of ugly cement for unclear reasons.

Pay attention to people standing in circular groups, most probably they are playing a traditional Thai ball game that consists of passing a bamboo made ball from one to the other with the only help of their feet.

Other attractions in town include the colorful Phra That Choeng Chum temple near downtown and the "Wax Castle Festival" held in October.

Northwest of Khon Kaen is Loei, which is perfectly placed to begin from it a tour around the Thai Mekong River.

Reaching Loei

Reaching Loei is possible from Khon Kaen with several buses per day (207B), from Udon Thani just during the morning (143B) or from Phitsanulok, through Dan Sai. The last is the most scenic, due to the steep climbing until Dan Sai. Leaving Loei through Chiang Khan, assures the wildest Mekong sights in Thailand (trucks leave during the day from the bus station, 20B, 49km, one hour).

National Parks

Four parks surround Loei: Phu Kradong, Nam Nao, Phu Hin Rongkla and Phu Reua. Phu Kradong is the easiest to arrive at; traveling towards Khon Kaen, leave the bus at Phu Kradong; continue with a truck the short distance to Sri Taan, the park headquarters. Climbing the plateau through one of the trails described in the maps given with the tickets is recommended; the longest trail is less than ten kilometers long. Sleeping afterwards at the Phu Kradong Resort is possible.

The Nam Nao Park hosts many kinds of big mammal species and rare birds, but all of them are hard to spot. The park is closer to Lom Sak than to Loei; ask for guidance at the terminal regarding the bus.

Phu Hin Rongkla is also closer to Lom Sak and contains relics from the communists’ guerrillas hidden among beautiful forests and rocks. The best way to reach it and the Phu Reua Park is with private transport, which can be rented in Loei.

The Town

The town itself is small and most of it is on the southern bank of the Loei River. The river is narrow and its shores are not developed, creating the feeling of being a small village and not a province’s capital. The town’s northern side is not more than a village with unpaved roads and no infrastructures. The solid, wide bridge connecting both sides looks oversized, with separate structures for every lane; it apparently leads to nowhere and serves mainly pedestrians.

Parallel and south to the river is Thanon Maliwan, or Highway 201, the town’s main axis. Loei’s bus station is fifteen minutes by foot east of the province’s administrative offices, on the junction between Highway 201 and the town’s main road, Nok Kaew.

Accommodations

Being a secondary town, Loei offers limited accommodations. Nonetheless, the Sugar Guesthouse on Soi 4 of Thanon Wisuttitep is a nice and well-located place. Loei’s 7 Eleven staff have experience guiding travelers to this slight off-center place.

Food

Excellent Isaan food is available at the night market, on Thanon Charoenrat; if reaching Isaan after having visited Laos, the laap and tom sam salads are immediately recognizable. Laap is a salad made of minced meat, limejuice, fresh mint leaves and many chilies. Tom Sam main ingredients are papayas, peanuts and, surprisingly, many chilies.

At Isaan’s heart, Khon Kaen combines the relaxed ambience of small, rural Thai towns with all the commodities of the bigger ones.

The city is famous in Thailand for its dinosaurs; the Phuwiang National Park is ninety kilometres to the northwest and invites to a whole day trip to the far past. Khon Kaen itself offers high-quality silk, a lively night bazaar, a museum and the famous Wat Nongwang at the southern part of the town. There are consulates from Laos and Vietnam in the town, but it is more convenient to issue visas while in Bangkok.

Isaan

Isaan is the north-eastern region of Thailand, on the Khorat Plateau, bordered by the Mekong River to the north and east, and by Cambodia to the south; westwards is separated from Northern and Central Thailand by the Phetchabun Mountains.

Isaan was part of the Khmer Empire, temples dating from that era at Phimai and Phanom Rung can be easily explored from Khon Kaen.

The Lao Lan Xang Kingdom was its next ruler; as a resullt, the area speaks Lao even now, called Isaan in Thailand. Treaties between Thailand and France recognized the area as part of Thailand at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Setup

Divided by Highway 2, Khon Kaen features an easy to remember grid of streets. East of the highway are the Na Muang and Klang Muang roads running from north to south; perpendicular to them are Srichan and Prachasamosorn roads.

Klang Muang is one of the main avenues in the city, hosting a lively Night Market. There are several 7 Eleven branches and several Internet Cafes. South of downtown is the Bueng Kaen Nakhon Lake, which offers several recreational activities.

Transport

As Khorat to its south and Udon Thani to its north, Khon Kaen is divided by Highway 2 (also known as Mithraphap or Friendship Highway) that connects Bangkok with Vientiane in Laos. That and its central location in Isaan transform Khon Kaen into an exceptionally well-connected place.

Beside the obvious buses along Isaan’s main axis, there are buses from Khon Kaen to all the main towns in Isaan and even with Northern Thailand through Highway 12.

Along Highway 2 there are buses in both directions at all times; all the night buses from Bangkok and Nong Khai stop here and if they have space they do collect passengers.

Accommodations

Klang Muang Road, the second street eastern from the bus terminal hosts several guesthouses. Due to the large number of people crossing this transport hub usually it is difficult to find a place if arriving during the late afternoon.

The popular Saen Samran Hotel is at Klang Muang 55-9, and offers fan single rooms from 150 to 200B. The renovated Roma hotel asks for 230 to 400B, the Khon Kaen Hotel 500B, and the Pongin Mantion 200 to 350B, all of them are along Klang Muang. The Rossukond Hotel is at the Glang Muang and Prachasamosorn junction and asks for 550B.