Surin

With its Phanom Don Rak mountain range bordering Cambodia to the south, Surin has always been heavily influenced by Cambodian culture, and a large proportion of the local population speaks a Khmer dialect. Its strategic location also made Surin an assembly point for the elephant armies during the early Rattanakosin period; to this day the city is best known for its elephants. Everywhere you look in this bustling city you'll see homage paid to these noble creatures in the form of sculptures, artwork, and even streetlamp motifs. In addition, Surin shares with its neighboring provinces a wealth of ancient Khmer structures, found outside the city in varying states of decay or restoration.

Surin is famous, above all, for its annual Elephant Roundup, held the third week of November. Surin has also become something of a year-round expat center, full of farang (westerners) who have married Thais—it's a good place to absorb that subculture, perhaps over a beer at Farang Connection.