A visit to Nakon Rachasima (aka Korat)

The northeast of Thailand, a group of provinces collectively called Isan, is known for... well, for nothing. Neither Thai nor foreign tourists venture into this region very much. The little I have seen is no different from other parts of Thailand, meaning that it has a lot of interesting places. Fewer people speak English, even at the hotels and guest houses, so it is more of a challenge when you forget a cell phone charger in a room and have to call to ask them to save it for you. People are still very friendly. Food is still excellent.


I decided that the best way to travel these parts was by motorbike, so I rented a 125 cc, 2-wheeled death machine with squeaky breaks. By now, I have gotten used to Thai traffic rules (if there are any, other than driving on the left - most of the time, - it's hard to tell), and somehow, I seem to manage to get where I want to go, even when few signs are in English. Riding feels safe but in reality, it's a lot more dangerous than skydiving. So far, I have seen 2 minor motorbike accidents (no one injured). At least, cars are used to motobikes and other small vehicles on the roads.
I took day trips to various places around Korat. Phimai has temple ruins reminiscent of the Ankor area in Cambodia - not surprising since these structures were built under Kmer rule during the same period. Somewhat restored, the site is quite nice. The stone work is impressive.
Nor far outside Phimai, there's a site probably well described as a park. It's actually a 250 year old banyan tree whose aerial roots grow forming something of a roof over a large area (an acre?).
Off the main highway, there are small villages where it was interesting to just rest and watch people - selling food, rocking their babies to sleep... Many houses have stores in the relatively open first floors. Thailand is actually a farily modern country, but in places like this, running water is not available everywhere.

From a bridge, I saw a couple of women working a canoe through an area chocked by water-lillies - who knows what they were up to.