Khorat in Thailand ?

[Peter_North]

Can anyone tell me the difference between Khorat, Khon Kaen and Isaan ?

Is it true that the girls in Khorat are fair and pretty ? I've come across Isaan girls. They are most dark.

[siamcutey]

Originally Posted by Peter_North

Can anyone tell me the difference between Khorat, Khon Kaen and Isaan ?

Is it true that the girls in Khorat are fair and pretty ? I've come across Isaan girls. They are most dark.

Not really though. Girls in Korat also got dark ones, tan ones and fair ones. Chiangmai girls also got dark ones and tan ones.

As for difference between Korat, Khon Kaen and Issan, next year when I go there, then I tell you the difference

hahaha
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[damocles]

from what i know Khorat considered to be in the Issarn region. And in general Issarn girls are dark and tan. However there is a large Thai-Chinese population in Korat which may account for the significant number of fair skin ladies from there. Just my thoughts. ;-)

[Peter_North]

Originally Posted by siamcutey

Not really though. Girls in Korat also got dark ones, tan ones and fair ones. Chiangmai girls also got dark ones and tan ones.

As for difference between Korat, Khon Kaen and Issan, next year when I go there, then I tell you the difference

hahaha
SC

I think damocle got my meaning. I wasn't asking for the difference in the girls. I'm wondering if Korat, Khon Kaen and Isaan are one and the same place.

[Raidster1]

Originally Posted by Peter_North

Can anyone tell me the difference between Khorat, Khon Kaen and Isaan ?

Is it true that the girls in Khorat are fair and pretty ? I've come across Isaan girls. They are most dark.

Issan is in the northeast region of Thailand. It consists of many provinces, two of these provinces are Korat and Khon Kaen.

As far as I know, Issan people are darker skinned.... unless they are Thai-Chinese.

[GiddlyGook]

I rented a car and a driver a couple of years back (which was surprisingly cheap because this was 2 years after the Baht collapse) for a trip through Korat and Khon Kaen on the way to Udon Thani. Specifically, one of my travelling companions' dad served during the Vietnam War at a base in Udon Thani and he wanted to relive that.

There are 72 provinces (changwat) in Thailand. Korat(officially called Nakonratchasima) and Khon Kaen are simply 2 separate provinces but they border each other. They are located in the North East region along with several other provinces and this region is collectively called Isaan. These provinces have a main city which shares the same name (e.g. Khon Kaen), and then the proince itself is subdivided into districts (amphoe), which is further subdivided into tambons and finally to baans.

I've been fortunate enough to travel to the four main areas in Thailand and they are all very different. If you do that you'd discover Thailand is not such a homogenous place after all e.g. Pattani (very Malay), Udon Thani (very Khmer/Laotian), Chiang Rai (very Lanna/Yunan) and Bangkok (very confused hahaha) are all very different.

[keet]

Khorat or officially known as Nakon Ratchasima is the gateway to Issan(NorthEast).
KhonKaen is abt 3hrs drive from Khorat. Lots of chiobus there or visit the KhonKaen University

[Peter_North]

Many thanks for the clarifications.

Does Korat have an airport ?

[keet]

Yes Nakon Ratchasima airport.
or u can take the bus from Morchit station, schedule every few hours.
abt 3.5hr from Bkk.

[GiddlyGook]

I think nobody flies to Nakhon Ratchasima anymore. There was only one airline flying there - Air Andaman - TG used to codeshare this flight with them. Of course, Air Andaman went bust in early 2004.

So it's the bus or you can fly to Khon Kaen and drive down.

[CharlieBrown]

I remember sometime back AirAsia has a flight to Korat Airport. But then, it seems that this destiny is no longer on their itinery.

Seems like ThaiAir is also not serving this destination anymore. Just checked their website & the selection criteria is invalid.

[CharlieBrown]

Originally Posted by GiddlyGook

There are 72 provinces (changwat) in Thailand.

Wow! Very detailed breakdown info bro!

Maybe you can also state down the various interesting places to visit in Korat. Have heard there is a night market, "fishtank" etc....... but I also duno the location.

[GiddlyGook]

We stopped over at Korat and Khon Kaen on our way to Udon. Streched our legs, eat and take a general look-see. What I remember (I have to dig around for the photos in a shoebox somewhere) was eating at this place in the middle of the old town, somewhere near the statue of some famous woman (I can't remember the name) and nearly passing out on the som tam. The som tam there is truly for experts, very different from the watered-down som tam in BKK. Very sour, very pungent and very rotten (it's like cencaluk from Melacca on steroids). Isaan food is very sour, very hot. Like in the north, they eat sticky rice too only in Isaan, it comes served in a basket weaved from rice stalks, covered with a cloth. This is called the kratip and it's a symbol of Isaan.

We took a slight detour to Pimai (about 45 minutes away) which is this amazing Khmer ruin. A must see. Khmer ruins are very different from the Sukhothai/Ayutthaya kingdom ruins - the architectural differences are quite a delight to observe.

Passed a lot of farms on the way. Women working seem to wear this headgear (looks like a turban) that I thought was particular to Isaan.

Khon Kaen was bigger and there is a university here so lots of young girls around.

I did not monger in Isaan. Was with friends and our objective was to soak up some of the local flavor so sorry, can't tell you where the hotspots are - I'm sure others will help you out.

[pokka02]

It was due to the water in the Issarn region that cause their skin dark. You dont believe me you try bathing with their water for 1 month, come back you sure become (bankali) . One of the temple in Korat call Wat Barn Lai is where Long Por Koon stay.

[Peter_North]

If I fly to Khon Kaen airport, how long does it take to drive from Khon Kaen airport to Korat ?