Isaan, Thailand: the good and the bad – Khmer temples, dinosaur fossils and vibrant festivals, but unhealthy food, air pollution and deadly fireworks

Isaan in northeast Thailand has ancient Khmer temples, waterfalls, the Mekong River, dinosaur fossils and festivals where home-made bamboo rockets are launched

DIY fireworks can kill, though. Other downsides to the sparsely populated region include food high in salt and, in spring, smoke from farmers burning stubble

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Phanom Rung, an ancient Angkor-style temple in Isaan. This region of Thailand is worth a visit for its Khmer temples, dinosaur fossils and festivals – but beware of the dangerous firework displays, unhealthy food and periodic air pollution from farmers’ fires. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 1:15pm, 28 Oct 2023

If you’ve been to Thailand, the chances are you’ve met people from Isaan without realising it. The hotel receptionist in Phuket, the tuk-tuk driver in Chiang Mai, the bartender in Hua Hin or the masseuse in Koh Samui could all be from the region that borders Laos and the Mekong River to the north and east, and Cambodia to the south.

Isaan is mostly populated by ethnically Lao people and has much in common with its neighbour from historical, linguistic and cultural standpoints. But despite making up a third of Thailand’s land area, its 20 provinces are overlooked by most tourists.

If you do spot a foreign face in these parts, they’re likely to be a missionary, an English teacher or a retiree who has married a local.

Parts of Isaan provide a glimpse of Thailand from another era. Water buffaloes toil in emerald paddy fields and rickshaw drivers pedal housewives to rustic markets bursting with freshly picked produce.

Prasat Hin Phimai, in Nakhon Ratchasima, is an ancient Angkor-style temple and outpost of the Khmer Empire. Today it attracts a trickle of travellers in a part of Thailand where tourists are otherwise few and far between. Photo: Shutterstock

Women still practise the art of silk weaving on traditional handlooms and although some Thais working in holiday destinations are becoming jaded by the onslaught of tourists, the hospitality and genuine warmth of Isaan people sets them apart.

Sightseers may be thin on the ground, but two ancient monuments that do attract a trickle of travellers are the Angkor-style temples of Phanom Rung, in Buriram province, and Prasat Hin Phimai, in Nakhon Ratchasima.