Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
North- eastern Thailand Highlights
Getting awestruck by the scenery in
Pha Taem National Park
(
Click here
)
Having a blast at a
Rocket Festival
Looking for elephants, tigers, pythons, monkeys and more in
Khao Yai National Park
(
Click here
)
Stepping back in time at the restored Angkor-era temple complexes of
Phanom Rung Historical Park
(
Click
here
) and
Phimai
(
Click here
)
Climbing the rickety walkways up the mountain at
Wat Phu Tok
(
Click here
)
Travelling along the
Mekong River
.
Making friends with elephants in
Ban Ta Klang (
Click here
)
Eating
sôm·đam
(spicy papaya salad) and
drinking
lôw kŏw
(rice whisky) with the locals
Succumbing to the surreal at
Wat Pa Non Sawan
(
Click here
)
History
The social history of Isan stretches back some 5600 years, to the hazy days of the Ban Chi-
ang culture, which, by at least 2100 BC, had developed bronze tools. Though Ban Chiang
was an advanced society, the Khorat Plateau, over which Isan spreads, was a sparsely pop-
ulated region for most of its history due to poor soils and frequent droughts. No major
powers were ever based here, instead they controlled it from afar.
The name Isan comes from Isanapura (now known as Sambor Prei Kuk), the 7th-century
capital of the Chenla kingdom, which included what is now northeast Thailand, and this
general term is used to classify the region
(pâhk ee·săhn),
people
(kon ee·săhn)
and food
(ah·hăhn ee·săhn)
.
Evidence shows that the Dvaravati held sway here, and then the Khmers came in the 9th
century and occupied it for some 500 years. After the Khmer empire waned, Isan was un-
der the thumb of Lan Xang and Siam kings, but remained largely autonomous. As the
French staked out the borders of colonial Laos, Thailand was forced to define its own
northeastern boundaries. Slowly but surely, for better and for worse, Isan fell under the
mantle of broader Thailand.
The Thai government, with considerable help (and most of the money) coming from the
US, only began serious development here in Thailand's poorest region in the 1960s, as a
way to counter the perceived communist threat. The result was an improved economy and
