Isan Trails North Tour

Day 1 – Khao Yai
After leaving Bangkok, departing early to beat the worst of the morning rush hour, we’ll sample some exotic flavors in a giant fruit market and explore a small but beautiful cave with a natural skylight and climb up above it to see a giant boulder balanced precariously on the edge of a cliff. Then we’ll check out the vivid blue waters of a natural spring, where you can swim if you want. In the afternoon we’ll head to Khao Yai National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the biggest and best national parks in Thailand, for some easy walking and waterfall-viewing. Then we’ll join the park’s night safari where there’s a good chance of encountering elephants, plus many other smaller critters including civet, marten, porcupine, and slow loris.

Overnight in Khao Yai

Day 2 – Wang Nam Khiao & Dan Kwian
Today we take a scenic rural drive following the edge of Khao Yai’s long mountain range. There are many small farms along this route so we can stop and sample local products (grapes, cashews, dragon fruits, flowers, etc.) as you like. Just before leaving the mountains behind, we’ll stop to see various foods collected in the forest (like mushrooms, bamboo, and insects) on sale in a jungle market. Then we’ll visit some families who make brooms from bamboo leaves and also handbags using old wrappers from coffee, laundry detergent, and other products – a brilliant exercise in recycling. After winding through a wide swath of rice paddies we’ll go to a workshop that forges brass Buddhas and then visit Dan Kwian, which has been producing pottery for hundreds of years. Some original rough, rust colored products are still made, along with a great variety of vibrant modern designs. We’ll visit one of the seemingly timeless workshops with its giant wood-fired kilns and hit a few stores to see the finished products before arriving in Nakhon Ratchasima (aka Khorat). Though it’s a bustling modern city, the moat and city fortifications are reminders of its long history and for the day’s final stop we will join devotees at the very holy Thao Suranari Memorial. It was built in honor of a woman who, according to legend, devised and led a prisoner rebellion against the invading Lao army (One version says that the women seduced the soldiers and then the men launched a surprise attack.) in 1826, thus saving the city. Performers do a local folk dance throughout the day to thank “Grandma Mo” for wishes people think she has answered.

Overnight in Khorat

Day 3 – Phimai & Khon Kaen
Built beginning in the late 10th century AD, the impressive and beautifully restored Khmer temple at Phimai, which is centered on a 28-meter (62 feet) tall prang and features many excellent carvings, predates Angkor Wat; and may have even been its inspiration. We’ll also take a quick look at what’s left of the city gate and see Sai Ngam, Thailand’s largest banyan tree, covering an island just outside of town. Then, we’ll visit a village to see how silk worms are raised, silk thread is made, and silk fabric is woven. If you want, you can sit at a loom and try it yourself. Then we’ll stop to admire a historic little temple building featuring original Isan-style murals, which are now very rare, before arriving in the modern city of Khon Kaen.

Overnight in Khon Kaen

Day 4 – Ban Chiang
On the way north from Khon Kaen we’ll stop to meet the urban monkeys that live in Kumphawapi’s town center, and visit an indigo mut-mee weaving village. Ban Chiang is the site of an enigmatic civilization that began making bronze tools around 2000 BC; long before any other known place in East Asia. The myriad artifacts unearthed here, most famously the iconic burnt ocher swirl pottery, rewrote the history books and today can be seen both inside the excellent Ban Chiang National Museum and in situ at a burial ground excavation site. Mixing the ancient with the modern, we’ll visit a village where locals make large pots using the original no-potter’s wheel method and how sticky rice baskets are woven. In Udon Thani city, we’ll sleep near Nong Prajak lake, which has walking paths and a night market.

Overnight in Udon Thani

Day 5 – Nong Khai
We’ll start the morning sampling exotic foods in Udon Thani’s large fresh market and then visit a family that makes charcoal stoves out of clay. The highlight of your morning tour of low-key Nong Khai is Sala Kaew Ku, a wonderfully bizarre religious center filled with immense and strange concrete sculptures blending Buddhist and Hindu iconography. After lunch we’ll stroll through the popular Tha Sadet Market, filled with bric-a-brac from across Southeast Asia, and several other unique sites, the highlight of which for most people is Wat Pho Chai and its incredible murals. Finally, we will take you to the train station, Lao border, a hotel in Nong Khai, or down to the airport in Udon Thani.

If our itinerary doesn’t fit your exact needs and desires, please let us know. With advance notice we can usually modify things.