Khon Kaen

Introducing Khon Kaen

Khon Kaen is the darling of Isan’s economic boomtime. The skyline rises high, neon illuminates the night, and a bumper crop of bars and restaurants entertain an expanding middle class. As the site of the northeast’s largest university and an important hub for all things commercial and financial, the city is youthful, educated and on the move.

Of course, not everyone will feel the urge to celebrate in Khon Kaen’s downtown clubs. With a sterile concrete veneer blanketing most of the centre, this big city has inherited little of Isan’s idiosyncratic appeal. Wandering through traffic, with office blocks above, it sometimes takes the elephants, trudging down the busy city-centre streets, to remind you that you are in Thailand at all.

But with fine eateries, swanky hotel rooms and plenty of places to wear holes in your dancing shoes, Khon Kaen is the ideal spot to decompress after humping it through the northeast’s quieter corners.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009