Getting Lost in Isaan


Once the festivities on Phi Phi were finished it was time for me to say my goodbyes to the group of travelers I had been with since Koh Phagnan.  The four Welsh guys were soon off to Australia via Malaysia and Singapore.  Their plan was to find jobs once they arrived in Australia, or Oz as they called it.  The two English girls were already off to Singapore too.

As for me I was reversing course and heading back north.  After a stopover in Bangkok my next destination was Isaan.  Isaan is the northeastern region of Thailand, home to over 20 million people but rarely visited by backpackers.  One reason is that Isaan lacks the beaches of the south or hip mountain towns of the far north.

Isaan is in green

But that was fine with me.  After spending more than enough time in the touristy areas of Thailand (and there are many) I was ready to get off the beaten track a bit.  Isaan as a whole isn't necessarily a wild frontier for tourists - many of the big towns are visited by sexpats who ended up dating or marrying girls from the area - but it does offer opportunities to get away from the crowds.

I first visited two rather uneventful towns, Khorat and Khon Kaen.  I enjoyed stopping by for a short visit, but I wouldn't choose to stay in either town for more than a few days.  While in Khon Kaen I rented a motorbike and toured the countryside, which was a great way to explore on my own.  I had contacted a couchsurfer in Ubon Ratchathani who accepted my request to stay with her, so I made a plan to drive with the motorbike from Khon Kaen.  I left my big backpack at the hotel and headed out for Ubon with my small laptop case filled with a few essentials and extra clothes.

I took a day and a half to make the drive to Ubon Rachathani and it was worth it.  Instead of following the highways I tried to take smaller roads.  Often I ended up turning off a small side road and got lost, but that was part of the fun.  Driving through small villages or on country dirt roads was so much better than the highways where trucks sprayed you with dust and pebbles.  When I drove past a village and the people saw who was driving, 9 times out of 10 they would turn to each other and say, "farang!" which basically means white person.  It's as if they were seeing an alien or something.  The kids in particular loved to point me out and wave hello, and they really got a laugh if I used any of my rudimentary Thai.

my bike (with a pretty pink license plate cover) 
the Isaan countryside is flat and easy to drive,  
and the small towns were a highlight

The trip itself was fun, but so was Ubon Ratchathani.  I didn't have many expectations before arriving and assumed it would be another rather bland provincial town.  Of course if you know a local that can make all the difference.  My couchsurfing host showed me a great time and I really came to like the city.  I hesitate to call it a city because Ubon Rachathani has less than 150,000 people, but it feels larger.  The center of town is usually busy and there are several large universities, giving the place a youthful atmosphere.

my host in Ubon
visiting a nearby temple

During my stay in Ubon my host and I drove the motorbike to a small town on the border with Laos.  We had planned on staying for only one night but it took two to get to the park nearby.  The reason was that the first night we partied too much and slept in till it was too late see the park!

I assumed the town would be the entertainment equivalent of a Friday night at your grandparents' house, but was I wrong.  The first evening we met a French guy at the market, probably the only other farang I saw the whole day.  That night we went out to explore and see if there was anything even open.

Not more than five minutes from our guesthouse we came across a local party.  There were around 50 Thais dancing and drinking at a tent with plastic tables and chairs.  A temporary stage had been set up where a few hired acts sang and danced for the crowd.  The first thing the Thais did was lead us to the dance floor; not more than a minute later the second thing was to give us a glass of whiskey and water.  My first one was about 90% alcohol!  Good thing that didn't continue cause I'd have been on the floor quickly.  Whenever we finished they were quick to pour us a new drink (thankfully less alcoholic than the first - the mixture of alcohol to water varied considerably, more so depending on how drunk the pourer was).

We danced and took pictures for over an hour.  Oh and so many pictures!  There must have been over a hundred with me and Tristen, the French guy.  One person would pose with us, then a bunch more joined in and there were another five people taking pictures with cameras and phones.

Can you spot me and Tristen, the French traveler?
they liked to pour us drinks!
and so many pictures
the entertainment
a few kids were at the party too

Just when we were planning a graceful exit someone invited us onstage for karakoe.  They picked a song I didn't even know and we reluctantly began the off pitch tune for the locals.  Finally after two song and dance routines we were allowed off stage and could say our goodbyes.

From there I assumed the night would end, but my host wanted to find a bar, which we did surprisingly easily.  I don't exactly remember getting back to the guesthouse, but that is where I woke up the next morning!  Well it was actually afternoon by the time we got up, so we had to scratch the plan to visit the national park and save it for the next day.

the after party

The park was worth the visit, but couldn't compare to our street party experience.  That evening we drove back to Ubon Racathani.  Oh and it happened to be Friday, so the perfect time to go out in Ubon!  By Saturday I had to say my goodbyes and start the trip back to Khon Kaen.  I spent the night in a town along the way and arrived on Sunday.  What had started out as a five day motorbike rental turned out to be ten!

at the park entrance
the park had some great views; Laos is over the river

The reason why I had to get a move on was because my visa expired on the 18th of June, only two days after I arrived back in Khon Kaen.  I spent one more night there, then one in Udon Thani, and on the day I had to get out of Thailand I crossed the friendship bridge into Laos.

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