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 For
the two decades, Thailand has become
the favourion for an increasing number
of visitors from all over the world.
Since the middle of the 1960s, tourism
arrival figures have constantly risen
and, by now, include travellers from
every nation on earth.
With
very few exceptions, these travellers,
mostly tourists, have limited their
choice of visit to Bangkok, Chiang Mai,
Pattaya, Phuket and Samui, while businessmen
and investors may have included a trip
or two to the various, newly created,
industrial estates, found in different
parts of the country.
 Yet
there are parts of Thailand just as
interesting and satisfying to explore,
although perhaps in an entirely different
way. One such parts is Isan ( pronounced
Eesaan ), the plateau in the northeast
of the Kingdom, which covers as much
as on third of the country's total area.
Isan is divided into 19 provinces and
borders on Laos in the east and Cambodia
in the south.
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 Northeastern
Thailand may not offer a seaside holiday
and beach roads lined with 5-star hotels,
but travellers are welcome with open
arms none-the-less. Here, lifestyles,
traditions language and customs are
distinctly different from the rest of
the kingdom.
Typical
Isan food, such as som tam (a raw papaya
salad) or kai yang (barbecued chicken)
and lab (minced pork), is unique and
not found anywhere else, unless prepared
by Isan natives. Isan music and dances,
quite different from those in the central
region, are noted for being full of
life, even boisterous.
The
region's colourful festivals, its handicrafts
like the distinctive hand-woven silks
and cottons, and a number of special
trade fairs draw large crowds of visitors,
coming from as far away as the capital.
Important
archaeological sites are to be found
all over the region and some provinces
have unmatched natural beauty spots
to offer, completely unspoiled and untouched
by modern progress.
Bus
above all, it is the Isan people, their
zest for life and their unsophisticated,
down-to-earth friendliness, that endears
them to visitors, Thai and foreign alike.
Today,
unlike twenty years ago, and no doubt
partly due to the government's "Gateway
to Indochina" policy, travel in
Isan has become easy and enjoyable.
Several daily flights connect Bangkok
with all major provinces and an excellent
road system links all provincial and
district towns throughout the region.
A railway line from Bangkok to Nakhon
Ratchasima (Khorat) bifurcates here
with one track going to Ubon Ratchathani
in the east, the other to Udon Thani
and Nong Khai in the north.
Most
provinces, and certainly those with
important or popular tourist attractions,
offer accommodation in no way inferior
to that found in Bangkok or better known
resorts. Many of the newer hotels have
fully equipped business centers, modern
fitness facilities and a choice of several
dining venues.
Hopefully,
for the convenience of travellers, the
following concise description of Isan's
19 provinces will be of some help. For
more detailed information, please contact
any of the TAT offices mentioned on
the inside back page. |
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