As I will be staying in the village and can not imagine me wanting to stay there all days and especially weeks in a row I am looking for interesting day trips or even multiday (with places to stay recommended) around Khon Kaen

I will have a car available so will be easy to go anywhere nice.

What trips would you guys suggest (culture, nature, just good fun etc) in the Khon Kaen area (including surrounding provinces).

1. King Cobra village

2. Ubonrat Dam with lunch of roast chicken, sticky rice
and som tam on a floating hut on the lake behind the dam.

3. Dinosaur Museum at Phu Wiang

4. Beung Kaen Nakhon, the lake near town which has dozens and
dozens of restaurants around it. Good for walking round or
hire bike (pedal variety)

5. Wat Nong Waeng, the pyramid shaped temple at one end of
Beung Kaen Nakhon lake. Climb the nine floors to the top.
Good view across the city from there.

6. The Khon Kaen Museum near Sala Klang and the Museum of Isaan
life in the grounds of the University opposite what I always think
of as the Khon Kaen Opera House (the roof is similar)

Those above are all in Khon Kaen. The well-preserved remains of a Khmer temple
is just inside Korat province at Phi Mai, about an hour and a half down Mittrapharp
towards Bangkok.

My son and grandsons are coming here early next year and that's the list for them too.

The above struck me as a very good list: those places on it that I have visited were all very worthwhile. Some others a little further afield.

(1) Monkey sanctuary at Kosum Phisai

(2) Isan museum of rural life and Buddha Relics Pagoda at Amphur Nadoon, Mahasarakham Province

(3) Roi Et's central Phalanchai lake area

(4) Lam Pao Dam and Suan Sa-on wildlife park a bit to the east in Kalasin.

The wildlife park and monkey sanctuary sound very interesting.

......AND THERE'S THE CROCADILE WRESTLING!!

I prefer to respect animals and as much as possible in their natural environment

Found a link for the monkeys:

http://www.thaiforrestbooking.com/np_home....pid=39&lg=2

If you drive to Kosum Phisai town on the KK to Mahasarakham road, the monkey sanctuary is only about 5 minutes off the main road

There doesn't seem to be a site for Suan So-an (sometimes written as Suan Sawan) but you will find it mentioned on various Kalasin tourism websites. It is quite near the reservoir and dam. There is also a beautiful teak wood temple not so far away in the hiils above the reservoir.

An afternoon at the Lam Pao Dam is good fun, you can sit and picnic on the lawns there while the kids go paddling, can buy drinks and food there.


totster

Pattaya 2 . Same facilities as the post above

Great suggestions. I have been meaning to take some time with a few of my thai friends in November and we've been arguing over where to go. 1 is from Chiang Mai and the other from the troubled south. They both dislike areas where foreigners vacation, and 1 guy's g/f said if he goes to BKK he shouldn't come home. Hopefully we can do this. AT the very least I'm going to ask my nephew if he's up for it when he visits in a few months.
Thank you.

Yes I agree - great suggestions. Just a word of warning - be careful with the monkeys. My wifes sister was recently bitten by a big old male. She forgot that she had a few peanuts in her bag but the old fella must have been able to smell them. He tried to take her bag and when she resisted he bit her on the leg. We spent a large part of the rest of the day at the hospital for her to get rabies shots.
Enjoy your trip. Isaan is a wonderful part of the world.

some more info on Phimai..click here

Yep - nice spot although I got plenty of stares from the locals when I went there with Mrs CC plus various assorted small Thai children (swimming expedition) so not sure how many farangs venture there. Not unpleasant or unfriendly, just having a good old peer at me as they do

thanks, went through it and wil spend 2 days there