Silk & Stone Tour

several silk fabric patterns
woman spinning silk thread

Duration
Full-Day

Start/Finish
Khon Kaen to Khon Kaen

Highlights
• Seeing silkworm raising
• Seeing how silk weaving is done
• The ancient Khmer ruins of Prasat Puay Noi
• Rare, historic Isan-style temple paintings

Description
We’ll take you to Chonnabot, one of Thailand’s most famous silk regions, to see the process of making silk fabric, from raising the silk worms to spinning and dying the thread to the painstaking hand-weaving. There’s also no-pressure shopping on the famous “Silk Road.” We also visit one of northern Isan’s largest and best preserved Khmer ruins and a temple with original and now very rare Isan-style murals, which are far different from the murals found in modern temples.

Add-Ons
Make the most of your trip with our special add-on activities before, during, or after your tour.

tower of Khmer ruin

We’ll start the trip by admiring a historic little temple featuring traditional Isan-style murals, few of which exist anymore. Next up is the 12th-century Prasat Puay Noi, the largest and most intact Khmer temple ruin in northern Isan. It has some excellent carvings and you will most likely be able to explore it all by yourself since few visitors go there. We also stop at an ancient quarry where it is believed the sandstone to build this temple was cut. Some natural potholes carved deep into the bedrock makes it an interesting and beautiful place.

We then visit a traditional village full of old wooden homes, where several families raise silkworms so they can spin their own silk thread, an amazing activity that we can usually see. You’ll get to see every step of the long, complicated process behind weaving Isan’s distinctive mut-mee silk fabric. You’ll even have the opportunity to sit down at a loom and try your hand at weaving. At Chonnabot’s silk museum you can learn more about silk and see some Isan cultural displays. Before leaving town you can shop for the finished product on the famous “Silk Road”, which is full of shops with silk fabric from here and elsewhere.

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

Prices valid until March 2023.

Group Size 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9+
Price Per Person 6,000 6,050 2,350 1,800 1,450 1,250 1,100 1,000 Ask

Price Includes
All sightseeing and activities as specified in the itinerary with English-speaking local guides, entrance fees, transportation in an air-conditioned vehicle, hotel transfers, snacks and cold water in the vehicle, accident insurance, taxes, and pre-departure travel consultation.

Price Does Not Include
Meals and drinks, travel and medical insurance, personal expenses (such as souvenirs, snacks, etc.), tips/gratuities, and any additional expenses incurred due to airline schedule changes, natural disasters, political actions, or other factors beyond our control.

Booking/Cancellation Policies
• For tours longer than one day, a non-refundable deposit of 30% is required as soon as possible after making your reservation.
• The full payment is due before the tour begins. This can be done after you arrive in Thailand, as long as you have access to sufficient funds before you depart on your tour.
• International payments are best done by bank transfer, and the cheapest, fastest, and easiest way is with TransferWise. Credit/debit cards can be used through TransferWise or other online wire transfer services. For people inside Thailand, we accept payment via cash (Thai baht, US dollars, British pounds, and euros), ATM transfer, and counter deposit to Siam Commercial Bank.
• If local taxes and/or fuel prices increase significantly, we reserve the right to add comparable surcharges.

Click here to read our full tour Terms & Conditions.