Isaan in north-east Thailand
Posted in Thailand
Pompous Rhombus, May 17, 2008
I spent last week in Isaan (northeast Thailand) and it was really good time. Lots of old ruins (both Thai and Khmer), friendly people, and not at all over-touristy. I made it the whole time without hearing “Mambo Number 5″ once. I really recommend checking out Phra Wihan (Preah Vihear) if you’re in Thailand and not planning to make a trip to Angkor Wat in Cambodia; it might be a little underwhelming if you’ve been to Angkor before, but taken on its own it’s pretty damn impressive. It’s just over the Cambodian border (much easier to reach from the Thai side than from the Cambodian), you make a photocopy of your passport at the border and are permitted to enter for the day. It’s a relatively easy daytrip from Ubon Ratchathani (which is now linked to Pakse in Laos by international bus, 200baht), though if you want to get there when the border opens at 8am you’ll have to wake up around 6ish and take your own motorbike. The other option is to take a bus to a town called Kantaralak about 40kms from the park and get either a songthaew (slow) or motorbike taxi (fast, but 300-400 baht for a round trip). The bus + mototaxi costs the same or more than just renting your own bike in Ubon + gas, so I say it’s probably better to just do your own thing.
If you don’t want to mess with that, Phanom Rung near Buriram/Khorat is another impressive Khmer-type complex, perched on an extinct volcano.
