Khon Kaen: Located in the heart of northeast region of Thailand (Isaan) the northeast of Thailand is often neglected by tourists, about 450 kilometers from Bangkok, bus and train services are availiable from Bangkok along with plenty of daily flights, outside the popular tourist destinations, Isaan is the place to experience Thailand’s local people’s customs and traditions.
Khon Kaen boasts of a lengthy history the birthplace of many thriving civilizations and cultures, an area where the first dinosaur fossils were found in Thailand, the once quiet capital of one of the poorest provinces in the northeast, has undergone dramatic changes and now a prosperous town, located in the heart of the region, the focal point of many regional development projects, including the region’s largest public university.
Khon Kaen is the centre of the northeastern silk industry with numerous villages producing their own mudmee designs, Chonnabot is noted for its quality silks, every December the city hosts a Silk Fair, when all the best materials are on sale, a dinosaur is the provincial- symbol ever since remains of these great beasts were unearthed in Phu Wiang National Park, an area also famous for its flora, and stunning waterfalls.
Ubolrat Dam, 50 kilometers from town, is the largest multi-purpose dam in the northeast, a total of 800 metres long and 32 meters high, the rock-filled structure’s 410 square kilometre reservoir comprises a picturesque lake storing some 2,550 million cubic metres of water, Khon Kaen National Museum an northeastern regional museum, exhibits various discoveries such as Ban Chiang artifacts and sculptured boundary stones found at Muang Fa Daet Sung Yang, Kalasin Province.
Phu Kao Phu Phan Kham National Park 56 kilometers from the province on Khon Kaen’s Ubonrat Dam, Non Sang route, the park covers a total area of 320 square kilometers of Amphoe Ubonrat, Khon Kaen Province and Amphoe Non sang, Nong Bua Lam Phu, was established as a national park on September 20th 1985, most of the area is covered with dipterocarps forests, and it’s evergreen forests in some parts, offers various kinds of activities such as jungle trips, lodging at a guesthouse, camping in the forest, the lifestyle of the area’s ancient community of the same period as Ban Chiang can also be studied from cave paintings.
