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  1. #1
    Member dhans's Avatar
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    Isaan trip July 2011

    Dear TD-friends,

    Thanks again for the help in preparing and executing our trip through the Isaan. For those who read Dutch: the tripreport is here: http://reisfamilie.wordpress.com/reisblog/.

    I'm sorry I don't have the time to write a full report in English for TD, but I would like to share some pics and short comments with you.



    After a couple of days in bangkok we first went to Phimai, where we stayed in the Phimai Inn. Nice hotel with swimmingpool. Hugh familyroom for 1060 baht.

    Saw an interesting procession in celebration of a new monk.


    Only one not happy was the monk



    Phanom Rung and Muang Tam



    Briljant Khmer style temples. The one above is Muang Tam. And this is Phanom Rung:



    Stayed in the brandnew Phanom Rung Puri hotel In Nang Rong. Great room for 1200 baht.

    Then on to Surin where we visited the Elephant Camp. To commercial for me and not nice enough for the elephants.

    TBC

  2. #2
    Member dhans's Avatar
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    Isaan continued

    We spent three days in Ubon Ratchatani during the Wax Candle festival. This was the highlight of our trip! helped making a float, saw the big parade and visited all the othe festivities. Don't miss it if you ever have the chance to be there. Stayed at Phadaeng Mansion for 500 baht (before) and 1000 baht during the festival.



















  3. #3
    Member dhans's Avatar
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    Isaan 3

    Onto Mukdahan where we stayed in Ploy Palace hotel at 1050 baht per room. Good nightmarket and very nice National Park.



    Not the best singers in the hotel though.....



    After that onto Nakhon Phanom (in the river view hotel [at] 900 baht). Not a lot to do there, but you can watch Laos.



    Onto Udon Thani. The paradise hotel isn't finished yet, but has large boutique style deluxe rooms at 1000 baht. A bargain. We visited Ban Chiang (which has a very nice museum) and painted our own pots.



    On friday night the band at the Irish Clock was very permissive of tourists participating in the fun. Food and beer are also very good.


  4. #4
    Member dhans's Avatar
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    Isaan: the verdict ;-)



    After having spent almost three weeks we went on from Udon Thani to the south by train. The Isaan may not be the most touristy part of Thailand, but for me that's the charm of the region. The only time we saw other tourists (11) was during the Wax Candle festival. Infrastructure, public transport and accomodation are good and therefore visiting is no problem. People are very friendy and helpfull, even if though a lot don't speak a word of english. The temples in the south of the Isaan are great and so are the national parks. It may not be the region of choice for first time visitors to Thailand, but I certainly recommend it for a return visit.

  5. #5
    Thailand Expat
    Pol the Pot's Avatar
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    Looks like the whole family had fun! Thanks, dhans.

  6. #6
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    Excellent thread, thanks.

  7. #7
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    Marmite the Dog's Avatar
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    Well done for making the effort to visit 'real' Thailand and thanks for the pics.

  8. #8
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    Bangyai's Avatar
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    Nice contribution. Glad you and your family had a good trip. Where to next year ?

  9. #9
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    The singer was so bad she was good nice report thanks.

  10. #10
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    You are a braver man than I khun dhans- ten minutes tolerating the crowd at the candle festival was more than enough for me, so I retreated to a familiar tavern. Pleased you enjoyed your time in Isaan, and kudos- not so many make it to our part of the world, especially with children in tow.

  11. #11
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    yes! isaan is really the most beautiful part of thailand! i used to work as teacher there for 3 years - found my love - and got hundreds of real thai friends. now working in samut prakan i return as often as possible to chaiyaphum/kaeng khro and i'm an absolute fan of all khmer temples around isaan - phimai, mueng tam and phanom rung are my favorites. i don't start to talk about isaan food! 555555!

  12. #12
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    BarnacleBill's Avatar
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    What a coincidence! I was only this morning reading all about Phimai in the Michelin Guide and thinking what a nice place it would to go to! Your photos have enlightened me! A visit is now most definitely on the cards! Thanks for a great report - with piccies!

  13. #13
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    had 2 weeks touring around isaan in march and loved it. roi et was one of the best kept towns ive seen in thailand, the national park at mukdahan gave us a great days hiking, and the drive along the river going north from nong khai and eventually south to loei was terrific. only downside was the execrable pantawee hotel in nong khai.

    good food and friendly people all the way.

  14. #14
    Thailand Expat terry57's Avatar
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    Very good report. Issan is a great tour outside the hot season.

  15. #15
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    hi, was it easy to find accomodation in Ubon during the festival with out pre booking?

  16. #16
    Member dhans's Avatar
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    Accomodation

    It took just a little bit of extra effort to find accomodation in Ubon ratchatani during the festival, as all the hotels on line were sold out. With a little help from TD Tripadvisor we found some additional hotels, and the first one I called (on tuesday before the festival weekend) had rooms for the festival. If you're going it would be wise to reserve though.
    By the way; my backup plan if I could not reserve anything was turn up in Ubon anyway. As was suggested on TD Thai would always find a place to sleep for a familiy with such cute blond kids ;-) .

    Ubon Ratchathani:
    Phadaeng Mansion. Double rooom with simple breakfast; 500 baht (thursday before, 1000 baht on friday and saturday during Candle Wax Festival)
    Rooms For Traveler

    And our other hotels, all AC:

    Bangkok:
    Prince Palace Hotel. Appartment met living room and two bedrooms 2450 baht, great buffet breakfast, one large and one smaller pool
    http://www.princepalace.co.th (via http://www.greenwoodtravel.nl)

    Phimai:
    Phimai Inn; Huge familyroom, extra bed and breakfast for four; 1100 baht, large pool
    http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review ... vince.html


    Buriram / Nang Rong:
    Phanomrung Puri Hotel 2 Bed room with breakfast buffet, 1200 baht, nice small pool
    http://www.phanomrungpuri.co.th

    Surin:
    Surin Majestic; 2 Bed room with breakfast buffet; 900 baht, large pool
    http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review ... vince.html



    Mukdahan:
    Ploy Palace Hotel; 2 Bed room with breakfast buffet, 1050 baht, good buffet breakfast, small pool on the 3rd floor
    Ploy Palace Hotel :: Mukdahan : The best hotel in Mukdahan

    Nakhon Phanom:
    Nakhonphanom River View, 2 Bed room with very good breakfast buffet; 900 baht, didn't use the pool as it was dirty
    http://www.nakhonphanomriverviewhotel.com

    Udon Thani:
    Paradise hotel, still under renovation, but allready good; Deluxe 2 bed room with buffet breakfast; 1000 baht, swimming pool
    http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Revi ... vince.html

    Kanchanaburi:
    VN Guesthouse, Double room without breakfast 400 baht, very good restaurant on premises. breakfasts araound 100 baht.
    http://www.vnguesthouse.net

    Hua Hin:
    Thipuray City hotel, Deluxe 2 Bed room with breakfast buffet, 1280 baht, swimming pool on the top floor.
    http://www.thipuraicityhotel.com

    Our more elaborate reviews can be found here:
    Hansje - Member Reviews - TripAdvisor

  17. #17
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    Nokturnal's Avatar
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    Wow nice work mate! I'm planning a trip to Isaan in October! Looks like it'll be well worth it

    Edit: Horrendous spelling error fixed.

  18. #18
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    SEA Traveler's Avatar
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    thans udans for the report and pics. although I've traveled through Issan on several occasions, it has been a while since being up that way and look forward to being able to take a trip bak up that way again. good effort on the report.

  19. #19
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    oldgit's Avatar
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    Great report and photos, thank you very much Dhans

  20. #20
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    Thanks for pics !

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