3 Day Itinerary To Experience Isarn Life

Not many tourists venture out to Isarn, the north eastern part of Thailand, basically due to very few tourist attractions. This doesn’t mean to say it’s not worth visiting.

I’ve spent a lot of the last year in the heart of Isarn, where life runs at a very slow pace. For me traveling isn’t about jumping from one tourist hot spot to another, I prefer to simply take in the vibe of a place, walk the streets and look, chat to local people and eat the local cuisine.

For me, Isarn is one of the most special places I have ever visited, purely due to the friendliness of the people. Here we have a unique culture compared to any other part of Thailand. From the clothes the women wear, to the food, music and even the language!

It’s not just me that agrees that Isarn offers a taste of the “Real Thailand”, my sister recently spent a few days in Isarn along with many other parts of Thailand and she came away saying that Isarn was the most memorable part in terms of getting to know the “real” Thailand. We also have Joe cunnings, one of the first authors that worked on the Thailand Lonely Planet book… his words were “If you want to experience real Thailand, head up to Isarn”

You could easily spend a month touring around this region, however I know that the average tourist doesn’t have this length of time. I appreciate that many other parts of Thailand are worth visiting, so here I present you a 2 night, 3 day taster itinerary of Isarn.

This is itinerary is not the easiest, especially as few people will be able to speak English. However, this WILL give you a taste of “Real” Thailand and most importantly, give you many opotunities to mix with the loveley Isarn people. If you are just interested in a hasell free trip, stopping and going every hour without realing mixing in with the people, then do a search on Google or go into a travel agent in Bangkok who will be able to sort out a tour for you.

Day 1 - Bangkok to Udon Thani

Take an early morning flight to Udon Thani via Air Asia, Nok Air or Thai Air. You could also take a train or bus from Bangkok but this will require more time, the VIP bus takes around 9 hours.

I highly recommend staying at the City Lodge Hotel, which costs around 600B for a spacious and clean room. The staff can speak English here so they’ll be able to help you with any questions you have. Once you have checked in and dropped of your bags, ask for a map from the hotel and go exploring!

Udon Thani is a city which makes it an ideal place to start the trip to get settled in before heading out to the more remote areas. You’ll find that most people here can speak a little English.

Check out the Night Market in Udon Thani - It’s a good place for a nice easy stroll to soak in the Essarn atmosphere.

Day 2/3 - Udon Thani to Nong Beau Lampu to Loei

Try to get up early and head to the north bus station. Make sure you head to the North bus station as apposed to the bus station in Udon Thani town. If you are staying at the City Lodge, they will be able to help organize a tuk-tuk.

Here you need to get a bus to Erawan in Nong Beau Lampu. Not many people speak English here so you’ll probably have fun with trying to explain where you want to go. This is part of the Essarn experience! Don’t worry, they will try and help.

Nong Beau Ampu is the province, Erawan Cave is the temple I recommend visiting. It’s basically one road from Udon Thani which will take around two hours.

When on the bus, you’ll have many Thai’s staring and smiling at you. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just that it’s not everyday they share a bus with a foreigner.

The bus journey may seem a little mad. Loud music will be pumping from the drivers stereo, the driver will think he is a F1 driver, people passing food around to each other and so on. It’s part of the experience!

When you get off the bus to go to Erawan Cave, you’ll need to get a tuk-tuk to the entrance.

Erawan has some 400 steps rising to the top with an open cave you can explore. Here you’ll have a great opportunity to mix with the locals.

After you have finished, you’ll need to get a tuk-tuk to the bus stop and head to another province/town called Loei. The tuk-tuk back to the bus station from the cave will be hard to explain, so print the Thai text below and show the driver.

When you arrive in Loei spend a few hours walking around the town, and perhaps the night market that is held daily. After finishing here ask a Tuk Tuk driver to take you to the Airport. Right next door to the airport entrance is a little hotel, I’ve stayed here before and the family who run the place are very eager to please. They will want to drink beer and eat with you and practice their Enlgish… a nice setting before heading to the Loei airport the following morning for a flight back to Bangkok.

A Few Notes:

•1) Respect others. Take off your shoes when entering the huge budda at the top (follow everyone else) of the cave and always ask to take pictures (They never say no, but it’s polite to ask)

•2) There are only 3 flights per week from Loei to Bangkok with Nok Air, so make sure you plan and book your flights in advance.

Here are some images I took when I last visited the cave with my sister and my Isarn friends

Here is some Thai that may make life a little easier on this trip. I recommned copy and paste into a text editor and print to take along with you.

อุดรธานี - Udon Thani

หนองบัวลำภู - Nong Bua Lamphu

เลย - Loei

ไปเอรวัณ อยู่หนองบัวลำภู

Buy air-la-won yuu nong bua lam-pu

Take me to Erawan in Nong Bua Lamphu

ไปถนนใหญ่ อุดร-เลย ต้องการไป บ. ข. ส. เลย

Buy tan-on yai udon loei dong garn buy bor kor sore loei

Take me to the bus stop so I can get a bus to Loei

ไปตลาดเมืองเลย

Buy da lart muang loei

Take me to Loei market

ไปสนามบินเลย

Buy sat-nam-bin loei

Take me to Loei airport

ขอเช่าห้อง

Koor chal hong noi cup/ka

Can I please have a room