Khon Kaen

Khon Kaen is the biggest city in the Issan section of Thailand. After a grueling flight from Honolulu to Narita, Narita to Bangkok, we spend the night in some day rooms at the Bangkok Airport. Early the next morning we flew to Khon Kaen. One of difficult parts of our trip was that we only stayed two-three days in each local, with the exception of Bangkok.





Khon Kaen is very flat as demonstrated by this picture from my hotel room. On the right, in the center of the photo, is the spirit house of the hotel. Spirit houses are commonly seen in Thailand. Their purpose is to keep the bad spirits in the spirit house away from the home or building that is occupied.





After a day of rest, we had a tour of the city. The marketplace is the focal point of each community. Here are pictures of two vendors. The one on the right is selling mangosteen, a delicious fruit.





Some barbequed chicken on the left and on the right are chile peppers, a very important ingredient in all Thai cooking.





Durian is the fruit of Southeast Asia. It can be a as heavy as 30 pounds. In addition, it has a pungent smell and is loved by many Thais. On the right, the vendor is cutting up a Durian.





On the left is a policeman's street station. Notice it is in the shape of a hat, where they view traffic. The next day we took a drive into the country to visit a wat and a forestry station. I liked this picture as it is of a "Monkeypod Tree". We stopped to look at a rice field.





On the left is the nine storied temple, Wat Nong Waeng, outside of Khon Kaen. On the right is a former U.S. airfield, Nam Phang, used during the Vietnam (American) War. I was told that they raise ostriches now. I can't verify this fact. Thanks Paul W. for the info!





On the left is a water buffalo. They are extremely important for farming in Thailand. They are also a delicacy to eat. On the right are rice paddies. Rice is the mainstay for Southeast Asia.





After visiting Dong Mun, former heritage teak forest and a wat hidden in the hills, I realized I had forgotton my camera at where we had lunch. Upon returning these women graciously had kept it for me. I gave them 100 baht for their honesty. On the right is another spirit house.





When we were returning to our hotel we stopped at a market by the side of the road. This vendor was selling a variety of bugs to eat. Interesting, but there aren't many birds in Issan, or Thailand, as people eat them!!





Beer gardens are very popular in Thailand. After a long hot day, acclimating to the heat of Thailand, one needs a cool drink to relax. So after two days, we said goodbye to Khon Kaen and headed to Roi-Et and our first homestay. It was a three hour drive in our two vans. We became close to our driver and bonded with him. We all enjoyed each other's company.