Khon Kaen Mini Trip

Since arriving in That Phanom our life has revolved around monitoring the new home build and establishing ourselves in our temporary house. So when our building team had to take a 7 day break from construction, to allow column concrete to cure, we decided to take a few day break as well.

It also coincided with our – 25th anniversary of being together as partners – so an opportune time to celebrate by treating ourselves to a nice mini break. Not wanting to travel all that far we decided on a 4 days and 3 nights in Khon Kaen, which is considered the gateway to Isaan (NE Thailand). It was about a 3.5 hour drive from our house. I had not been there before but Ace had – he went to high school there.

The Dogs – However, we needed to kennel our dogs (Lex & Izzy) & needed to drive to Nakhon Phanom first to drop the dogs off at a veterinary clinic that provides boarding. They have big rooms for our two dogs to share and a large fenced in yard to exercise. This added a further 1.5 hours to our journey.

Once the road trip was underway it was fun to be motoring and exploring new territory. The drive from our house took us through the Isaan countryside. We took a rural road shortcut from our town to join highway 12, the wide 4 lane highway, that took us to Khaon Kaen. This highway stretches from Myanmar to Vietnam, traversing through Thailand (Mai Sot to Mukdahan).

Driving long distances is not my thing anymore so we took our time on the journey, stopping for the odd refreshment & a lunch break in Kalasin. It was around 3 PM by the time we arrived in Khon Kaen, and the Ad Lib Hotel. This was a fairly new & well appointed high rise hotel in the heart of the city. I am informed by a reliable source that the hotel is owned by a Thai Australian Alumni – & this is where the Alumni Association holds its NE Thailand events.

Why not enjoy a nice, upmarket hotel staycation – after all it was our 25th anniversary. Afternoon coffee to shake off the driving included a couple of very delicious lemon “cronuts”, (donut & croissant mix) made by the hotel. We took a corner suite with a balcony and grand vistas over the city. It was lovely and well appointed – just what we needed.

The night of our arrival we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the hotel’s level 27 restaurant to mark the occasion. Being a bit worn out, we decided to enjoy the hotel offering & go Italian with a Caesar salad to start, followed by spaghetti vongole for Ace & a spinach lasagna for me. This was followed by Italian ice cream (to share) to top of the meal. The food was excellent and the view was a change from our country outlook. After driving much of the day it was a fairly early evening.

Over the next couple of days we took advantage of the many homeware and building supply businesses in Khon Kaen to explore ideas & search out options for some new furniture that we will need (lounge, dinning room & bedroom) as well a looking for tile options. doors & trim ideas for the house. We visited the likes of Index, JAS sofa & an out of the way big furniture place about an hour from the city that sold a brand of bedroom furniture – Tree’s Furniture – we like the style of .

We also checked out Homepro, SCG Home solutions & Cotto Tile Gallery. Lots of driving & walking about, searching and debating. We think we found some tiles that would work for the kitchen, lounge along with the outside porch areas & bathroom. As they are from Homepro it will be easy for our builder to order them. A few pictures of some of the items we are considering.

All this exploring worked up a thirst one afternoon so we quenched it at a unique coffee bar called – REFILL. It was a modern concept inside a concrete building set up like a bar with a couple different rooms and outdoor garden area. They make specialty drinks that were very good. I had the watermelon tea, ace had a special ice coffee and a strawberry cake.

Late afternoon we went to the roof top pool and enjoyed a lovely swim in the infinity edge pool with views out over the city as the sun was going down – the water was wonderful. In the evening we wondered over to Ton Tann Market for some browsing, shopping & a Thai market dinner. It was a very large market with parking for over 1000 vehicles, lots of merchandise stalls and so many food vendors. We also enjoyed some unwelcome moisture as we ate in a covered spot at the market.

The following day in addition to doing more product browsing & looking around town, for lunch we went to a Michelin Guide restaurant. We enjoyed “Krua Supanniga by Khunyai Somsie” for lunch. Named after the Supanniga flower, this unique place blends Thai flavors from the eastern seaboard and Isan cuisine. Grandma’s recipes inspire the food. We enjoyed the must-order chamuang pork—a juicy stewed pork infused with Chamuang leaf’s slightly sour flavor (BR). This was accompanied by mixed (BL) vegetables & gang subnok (middle). All very tasty and enjoyable. The place has been there for some time & there is a branch in Bangkok. The grounds, however, look a bit neglected & tired – but the food was not.

For our last evening we took Grab Taxi to Central Plaza shopping center for a wonder around, some dinner and a wonderful foot massage. It has been many years since enjoying the relaxation of a massage. My feet thanked me later for easing up tense muscles. Ace enjoyed a Thai massage for his overworked muscles that he said hurt with every manipulation. After a great nights sleep it was time for the morning sunrise viewed from our room, before having a wonderful buffet breakfast. Very indulgent food offerings.

Then it was a morning 1.5 hour drive to Udon Thani enroute home. We wanted to do some exploring at Boonthavon to look at furniture, kitchen options & lighting. I found a dinning suit I like, Ace found lighting he was looking for. We also stopped at JAS sofa shop again to check out some cloth & leather colors & sofa styles.

After a late lunch we made our way back to Nakhon Phanom (3.5 hours) to collect the dogs & return to That Phanom. It was an enjoyable break away, with many new ideas for house finishes and furniture to ponder along with some wonderful food, scenery & a nice 25th anniversary celebration.

It was back to monitoring the house build. When we returned home the build team were hard at it starting to lay the acc wall bricks – the build journey has recommenced. The roof team are also expected this week.

Stay tuned for the week 10 & 11 update coming early next week.

You can check out a short YouTube video that highlights our mini break to Khon Kaen here