As our daughter had a week of holidays, we spent it visiting my wife’s father, who still lives in the village he was born in, located in the heart of Isaan, in the Roi Et province. If you look at a map of Isaan, it’s pretty much in the center, about an hour north of Buriram.
Isaan is the northeastern region of Thailand, a dry plateau known as the Khorat Plateau. The region is characterized by its relatively arid and flat terrain, making it less fertile than other parts of Thailand, and thus a poorer region. It’s still fully cultivated and covered in rice fields, but basically, they can only grow rice once a year, whereas other areas can get 2 or 3 harvests from their land annually.
We visited during the rainy season, which is the best time to visit Isaan, as everything is fluorescent green with rice fields during the months of September to December. The rest of the year, it’s quite dry and dusty, not as nice. Isaan has a specific culture influenced by Lao heritage, seen in its language (the Isaan dialect, closely related to Lao, and honestly very similar to Thai, it’s just some vocabalery that changes). It’s surrounded by Laos and Cambodia, sharing aspects of their rural lifestyle.
Isaan is famous for its distinct cuisine. My family, being from there, I can tell you they eat everything that moves, and most of what grows, and there are some really strange meals, but also famous dishes like som tam (papaya salad), larb (spicy meat salad), and sticky rice.
It’s flat and full of rice fields. Driving there, you go down nearly straight roads, with rice fields, scattered trees, and hedges on both sides, sometimes a pond. It can be quite boring, but it’s nice when everything is vibrant green this time of year. The green can be stunning, especially with bright blue skies. Often the sky is cloudy, which is never a problem here—clouds are actually sought after in Thailand, unlike in Northern countries. Talking about roads they are good, particularly the return was easy, mostly four lanes all along and recent roads.
There aren’t many historical sights to see, aside from a few Khmer ruins, such as Phanom Rung Temple. Most housing and towns until quite recently were originally built of wood and open air. Now everybody wants air con so everything has been fully reconstructed with the usual recent but oldish concrete buildings with bright colors that line the avenues you see everywhere in Thailand. While Isaan might not be that interesting for tourists looking to see the maximum of Thailand in a short time, it’s a place where visitors can experience an authentic, slower-paced way of life, far from the more touristy regions.
On the way to the village
We often break up the 7-hour drive to Isaan by stopping halfway, which is why we’ve been to Khao Yai so many times. We stopped there for 2 nights on the way back and to go, we left Bangkok in the late afternoon and slept at a random hotel on the way around midnight. The next morning, we left early and stopped in Buriram to buy some of their famous grilled meatballs as gifts for the family. Various types of meatballs are available, you can grill them on skewers or use them is soups. We ate lunch in a riverside restaurant, where we saw boats practicing Long Boat Racing or “Kaeng Rua” (แข่งเรือ) in Thai. These races typically involve long wooden boats, each manned by 10 to 20 rowers using paddles. They are often held during festivals, especially towards the end of the rainy season. Teams paddle in unison to gain speed against the reverse currents of the river. I never witnessed the races, I guess it’s in a few weeks.
My wife built her father’s new house quite a few years ago. It’s a modern concrete house on the outskirts of the village, which consists of just a few streets, 50 houses maybe. There is nothing much, no shops, 2 temples and a school that was abandoned a few years ago during COVID. It’s located 15 minutes away from a larger town. The village is rural and fully surrounded in rice paddies. Half of the houses have cows or buffalo in stables, and the animals were during our stay in the village, while the rice fields were occupied by crops. The rest of the year, the bovids graze in the dried rice fields. It’s a cycle they eat the remaining rice grass and fertilize the soil. They’re usually taken there in the morning and brought back in the evening, so you often see them in the village streets, returning at dusk, accompanied by their shepherd—these days, often on a motorbike, but sometimes by bicycle or on foot.
Life there is quite calm. The house is comfortable, it has views of the rice fields from a large terrace (other side of the house in the photo below), which adds to its peaceful atmosphere. The internet is great, and there’s air conditioning in every room, so we can easily work from there. Not that there’s much else to do anyway, and it’s quite hot during the day.
Buddhism
My wife’s father is retired and goes daily to the temple in his old pickup. There are two Buddhist temples in the village, but he avoids one, as it’s run by the Dhammakaya Movement. This movement has an impressive temple in Pathum Thani, with futuristic designs and a large following, both in Thailand and abroad. However, the Dhammakaya Movement has been criticized for its guru-like practices and alleged financial misconduct. My wife’s father is more traditional and follows Theravada Buddhism, the oldest school of Buddhism, which focuses on the teachings of the Buddha.
Monks play a central role in Thai society. Many Thai men become monks temporarily, often during major life transitions. Temples (wats) are community centers where people go for merit-making, ceremonies, and meditation. There’s a classic Buddhist temple in the village where ashes of some family ancestors are housed under tomb like monuments. But my wife’s father goes to a particular temple outside of the village because the founder was an ancestor, and some of the resident monks there are acquaintances.
We accompanied him one morning with our two kids, especially to present our newborn son to the monks. We arrived late, so the ceremony was already in progress. The monks were chanting, and the two dozen faithful, mostly elderly women, sang and prayed in response. The ceremony wasn’t long or pompous—it was a formality. 5 monks only where in front of the audience. Afterward, the monks began their meal with food brought by villagers. This is the whole point of this lifestyle: monks depend entirely on the generosity of the people who come to the temple. Most of the monks here are older; it seems like a retirement position for them, as they likely had civil lives before.
This temple is nothing special—really simple. A few years ago, they rebuilt the main hall with basic concrete and tiles, so it’s not a fancy place. There is a nicer, classic Thai-style pavilion outside, but nobody really uses it. The temple is built on the grounds of an ancient Buddhist temple, and some ruins remain from that time. I think the temple might have been abandoned at some point and later rehabilitated by a local community last century. We always stop to pray briefly with my wife’s father at the Buddha statue in front of the ancient temple ruins.
My wife’s mother built a garden and orchard for her children and grandchildren about 100 meters from the house. I would have thought they would try to buy the land in front of the house, but as is often the case in these villages, there are always stories, and buying or exchanging land proved impossible. Anyway, the garden is just a short walk away, surrounded by rice fields. Canals have been dug by bulldozers to retain water during the dry months. It has grown well over the past few years, with lots of trees, mostly fruit trees, and plenty of fish in the ponds. My wife’s brother, along with a gardener, takes care of it. I’ll write a specific article about the garden soon.
Some strange facts about crustaceans in Isaan: there are actually crabs in the rice fields, locally known as “poo na” (ปูนา). These small freshwater crabs are commonly found in rice paddies and are used in traditional dishes like “som tam pu pla ra” (papaya salad with fermented fish and crab), which is one of the strongest-smelling papaya salads. I personally stick to Tam Thai, the version without the foul-smelling fermented sauce. Shrimp is also common, as fresh shrimp is bred in artificial lakes. The Giant River Prawn, known locally as “kung” (กุ้ง), is a popular ingredient in many Thai dishes, such as kung ob woonsen (baked prawns with glass noodles) and tom yum kung (spicy shrimp soup).
A Family Getaway in Khao Yai
On the way back, I had booked 2 nights at a nice resort in Khao Yai. It took us about 4 hours to get there, and we were able to enjoy the serene location. As I often tell friends, when you visit Khao Yai, you usually spend most of your time at the resort because they are set in nature and are really pleasant. Of course it depends if you plan to go to the Khao Yai National Park, we’ve been many times already so we didn’t this time, check this link for articles about trips to the park. The Khao Yai area outside the park, North of the Northern entrance gate, is popular with tourists, especially Thai tourists from Bangkok. There are many expensive, fancy resorts, as well as some more modest options. Guesthouses are more commonly found to the North in Pak Chong, on the other side of the highway, while the area near the National Park entrance is known for its vineyards, golf courses, and vast, upscale resorts (and of course beautiful views of the Khao Yai mountains).
Hansar had good rooms for us at a reasonable price, especially considering we now travel with two kids. Traveling has become more complicated since you can’t just book a standard double room. Our baby is 4 months old, so I don’t even mention him when booking—he doesn’t need breakfast, and we bring our own baby cot. We stayed at this hotel 4 or 5 years ago, and the setting is still as beautiful, with a well-maintained garden surrounded by tall trees and small, cliff-like mountains.
A boutique luxury resort near Khao Yai National Park, offering a peaceful retreat with stunning mountain views. It has a modern design, objectively it’s not that nice in terms of architecture, but the eco-friendliness is to be found elsewhere, in teh surrounding gardens bordering cliffy mountains, the outdoor pool, wellness spa with onsen, and farm-to-table restaurant. It’s a perfect spot for relaxation in nature, with nearby activities like hiking and wine tasting.
On the first evening, we had dinner at an Italian restaurant we remembered from years ago. It’s still well-maintained. I had fond memories of the Ossobuco, but unfortunately, this time the meat was overcooked. However, other dishes, including a mushroom risotto, were excellent.
One of the few Italian Restaurants in Khao Yai. Prices are close to those in Bangkok so it’s quite expensive for teh area but the food is good, the owner is Italian and they use imported products only.
The next day, we worked at the resort, relaxed by the pool, and visited an attraction called Primo Piazza. In general, Khao Yai has a strong European influence, with Thai people particularly loving Switzerland and Italy. There are many places with imitation Italian architecture. It worked well as a short stop, just 5 minutes from Hansar.
A fake Italian village, built from mediocre materials to mimic a Tuscany-inspired atmosphere. Despite this, it still has its charm, with cobblestone streets, rustic stone buildings, and picturesque courtyards. It’s quite small, featuring a farm where visitors can interact with animals like alpacas, donkeys, and sheep—great for kids. You can buy animal food for 20 THB. There are also cafes and restaurants on-site, and it’s a great spot for photos with the Italian-style architecture and Khao Yai’s mountain backdrop.
That evening, a big storm hit, bringing lots of rain, so we stayed in and ate at the resort.
The next day, we left early for Bangkok, making a stop at a theme park along the way, just half an hour from the resort. I found the place, Wonderland Saraburi, randomly on Google Maps—testament to its lack of marketing.
I wonder when it was built because this theme park in Saraburi with a backdrop of Khao Yai mountains looks old and barely visited, but it was still interesting. It blends an amusement park with a zoo and other entertainment facilities. Most of the rides were closed and didn’t seem appealing, but the park itself was well-maintained with beautiful gardens. It’s huge, with a Dinosaur Park area where visitors are taken on open buses. It’s about 100 times less impressive than Nong Nooch in Pattaya, but still worth the visit. Visitors can walk through landscaped gardens filled with flowers, sculptures, and artistic installations (although many of these have a tacky, Chinese-influenced design).
The zoo part is small, with farm animals, horses, flamingos, and a few other birds. In comparison, the Bonanza Zoo on the opposite side of Khao Yai is much better.
