Khon Kaen

In November we went to the heart of Isaan country: Khon Kaen. Isaan is one of the poorest regions of Thailand and typically where many of the bargirls and Bangkok taxi drivers come from. It's the home of spicy food and wonderful country music.

We stayed at the five star Sofitel because it was ridiculously cheap - something like £20 a night. Khon Kaen itself is quite a dusty town with very straight streets and low buildings (punctuated by the odd five star hotel that is), which reminded me a little of a cowboy western town.

There are some beautiful temples. The one below - Wat Nong Wang Muang (I think!) is a pyramid of layers which you can climb up higher and higher.



It's next to a serene lake. Fringing the lake are bars and restaurants and lake-side stalls where you can paint your own plaster models (hello kitty etc.) and partake in tasty street food.




Khon Kaen also has some night markets. Again these are great grazing grounds. We had Islamic food from a nice couple who looked more Pakistani than Thai. Saffron rice, fantastic chicken drumsticks and a nice onion pancake earnestly fried by their little boy.



The best grilled chicken in town is reputed to be Kay Yang Rabiap. Yum. It's closed in the evenings though - we didn't know that the first time we went. So we made sure the other two times were at lunchtime. Below is grilled chicken, som tam (Khon Kaen style - normal som tam is less intense), and a variety of herbs.



So to sum up, Khon Kaen was pleasant. Nice food, markets, lakes and temples. Nice hotel.