May 2023
Why go to Isan, this region shunned by farangs (non-Asian foreign tourists) and Thais? Or why not go? This region may not have any interest. To have a clear heart, I decided to go for a little tour. I say a little tour because this region is huge, the largest in Thailand, and it would take me much more than two weeks to travel it in every direction.
Before leaving, I asked the few Thai people I know what they thought. None of them are from this region.
Their opinion is unanimous: we must not go there, people are dirty and dishonest, and we eat there badly.
Before giving you my opinion at the end of the article, let’s see what my journey was.
Kon Kaenh
The first stop of my little tour of the Isan is Kon Kaenh, a fairly large city (more than 100,000 inhabitants) in which I arrive by train from Bangkok. Not much to say about this city in which I did not find a great interest apart from a nice night market.
Udon Thani
Strangely, Udon Thani who is much smaller than Kon Khaen (36,000 inhabitants) seems larger. The city is more lively and lively around the station district, but also in other neighbourhoods with many merchants and some very pleasant parks.
I only spend two days there, but this city rather makes me want to come back.
Nong Han
Located about fifty kilometres from the city, the archeological centre has the big flaw of not being served by public transport. Mandatory taxi so to come there from Udon Thani.
I don’t regret my visit. The very modern museum is particularly interesting and the site as well.
Nong Khai
This city is my real big favourite of this little getaway in Isan. Maybe it’s an effect of the Mekong. Indeed, in all the cities where I crossed the Mekong I was seduced by this river and the particular atmosphere it exudes. It was already the case in Cambodia and Laos.
I really loved this city. It must be said that I was lucky enough to book a room in a guest house called Mu Meet, on the banks of the Mekong, which is so well located and so pleasant that we would like to stay there for days. It is all the more a surprise because not knowing at all how long I was going to stay, I had simply booked on the Agoda app for two nights the cheapest room not too far from the city centre.
Buddha on the shores of the Mekong
I extended my stay by two more nights, but I think we might be tempted to spend a few months in this guest house.
You can see in my photo album on L’Isan some videos of my walks on the banks of the Mekong.
sala Keoku
Sala Keoku is the park not to be missed in Nong Khai
I offer you a small video to discover this extraordinary place.
https://youtu.be/PYUvw0XvP9k? si=HOVMgmNSvbdEoLxd
Nakhon Phanom
Tat Phanom
The stupa of Tat Phanom
Tat Phanom is a very important temple for Buddhists. It features the most richly decorated stupa in Thailand. Whole buses flock to commune in this temple.
Mukdahan
Mukdahan at night
A city that didn’t seem very interesting to me, but I didn’t take the time to really visit it. It was for me a step towards Kong Chiam
Kong Chiam
Beautiful staircase to reach a temple
Very interesting village for several reasons: it is a village very preserved from tourists to the point that no one speaks English, and nothing is posted in English, which does not always make it easy to know what you eat. But above all, this village is located at the confluence of the Mekong and the Moon River, and if you are lucky, you can observe the mixture of colours of the two rivers.
The second real point of interest is the national park about fifteen kilometres from the village, very easily accessible by scooter, in which on the one hand you benefit from a viewpoint on the first sunrise in Thailand, since it is a point of view at height that is the most east of the country, but also you can observe thanks to a very pleasant walking path of rock paintings.
It’s really an absolutely beautiful site on which I made a small video
Ubon Ratchathani
Magnificent building of the cultural centre
Ubon Ratchathani is a city that I found very pleasant. There are two beautiful neighbourhoods and a national museum that is not very large but which is very well done and offers an archeological collection worthy of interest. It is also a city I will probably return to because I only spent one day there.
I will probably expand this article in the coming days.m
My first conclusion on this short stay in Isan is that this region deserves much better than its bad reputation. I only had time to go from city to city, but I’m sure the countryside is worth the detour. There are many other sites in this area that I did not have time to visit, including those related to the discoveries of dinosaurs but also many temples that are apparently particularly beautiful.
Even if there are more difficulties in communicating than in other parts of Thailand, because of the very small number of people who speak English, the inhabitants of Isan have lived up to the reputation of the Thais: smiling, welcoming, helpful.
It is true that the food seemed a little less varied to me than in other parts of Thailand, but I nevertheless ate very well there.
A destination that is therefore quite to be discovered and discovered at length, because the sites are very far from each other, you have to travel long distances. I think the ideal would be to discover this region by motorcycle. This does not seem to me an extremely dangerous undertaking because traffic is not very important outside the main roads.