Khon Kaen is a bustling, prosperous
town in the heart of Isan. Established in 1783, Khon Kaen
is today the centre for regional development projects and
home to the Northeast's largest university.
Khon Kaen is 450 km from Bangkok
and covers an area of 10,886 square kilometres. It has 20
districts and three sub-districts. Khon Kaen is a tourism
and transport hub for the heartland and northern provinces
of Isan. In addition to its modern airport, the city is a
busy junction on Highway 2 and an important station on the
northern railway line to Nong Khai.
The province has plenty of tourist
attractions to keep visitors occupied, but Khon Kaen geographically
is the most central gateway in the region, offering convenient
links to the northern and central provinces. In the east,
the Mekong River at Nakhon Panom is 295 km from Khon Kaen.
Nong Khai is 213 km to the north while Nakhon Ratchasima is
219 km to the south.
Khon Kaen Attractions:
Tourist attractions
in Khon Kaen vary from natural scenery to religious and archaeological
sites.
Bung Kaen Nakhon, a lake in the southern part of town,
is popular spot with food stalls selling local specialities
such as som tam (spicy papaya salad) and kai yang (grilled
chicken.)
Khon Kaen National Museum
has a large collection of artifacts discovered at archaeological
sites at Ban Change and Fa Daet Song Yang in Kalasin province. Phra That Kham Kaen is
a 19-metre-high chedi at Wat Jediyaphum about 30 km from town.
According to a legend, two monks on their way to Nakhon Phanom
province spent the night at the site of the current temple
where they observed a dead tamarind tree. Upon returning,
they saw the tree had miraculously come back to life. They
told the villagers to build a chedi over the "kham Kaen" (hardwood
log). The province derives its name from this chedi.
About 50 km north-west of Khon Kaen is the Ubol Ratana Reservoir.
Named after the eldest daughter of HM the King and Queen,
it is the biggest multipurpose dam in the Northeast, generating
electricity for eight neighboring provinces. There is a restaurant
with view of the dam and reservoir. Boat trips are available
too. More
