We've just spent a week in Thailand's least travelled region, the Northeast (or "Isaan&quot - and thoroughly enjoyed it!

The people are very friendly and hospitable, the countryside is unchanged, and you get a real sense of the agricultural history of the country that you simply miss when sticking to the tourist meccas of Phuket, Chiang Mai, Pattaya etc.

We stayed at a place called Gecko Villa, near Udon Thani, which was not a hotel but a large country house with a superb private swimming pool. We had the whole property to ourselves and delicious Thai meals were prepared for us daily by the very friendly and helpful couple who run the house and lived in a nearby village. This was a real travel experience and we can't wait to return!

The downside is perhaps the lack of English spoken throughout the region in comparison with the main tourist areas - although sign language and smiles got us a long way!

Tips: wherever you plan to travel in Thailand, we would recommend using the budget airlines Nok Air and Air Asia, which are considerably cheaper than Thai and very efficient. However, we'd avoid staying away from One 2 Go....and this is something we had done before the recent Phuket incident.

And do make sure you know which airport in Bangkok your flights leave from: the airline you use and the destination both play a part here, and you do not want to have to transfer between Don Muang (the old airport) and Suwwanaphum (the new one) unless you have three or four hours to waste away!

Any other similar recommedations in Thailand, cambodia or Laos would be welcome! It seems that Bali has earmarked most of the villa / house rental market, with such properties fairly difficult to find in SE Asia.

Glad you enjoyed, I know many do not venture to the North East seeming to prefer Chiang Mai/Rai area but it certainly is different and I think is worth a few days to see Isan, the people are great, laid back. Scattered around are some quite good places to stay as of course there are Bangkok residents with plenty of money and some pretty good places to stay.

Don't forget to try the E-San food. E-San sausages with sticky rice, steam river fish with "jaew" sauce with steam vegetables, crispy duck "larb"..... endless list!

Thanks for your report, Jane. It sounds great!

Thanks for the report. I am particularly interested in your comments about Air Asia, Nok Air, etc. We are just getting ready to book Air Asia BKK to CR, but was debating whether to just go with Thai Air due to the recent crash. Based on your experience have you found Air Asia and Nok Air to be better than 1,2 Go?

jgg

I have friend in Bangkok and they swear by Nok Air. This airline is owned in part by Thai Airways and was spun off to allow them to discount domestic fares. The insides of the planes are the same as on Thai..they have simply done a "paint job" on the outside. They generally have a very good on time departure.

Air Asia: slightly more cramped and they run on more of a budget. I would take Nok Air in preference, but from a safety perspective believe Air Asia is fine. They sometimes have delays.

Orient Air Asia / One 2 Go: my friends commented that as with Phuket Air, a quick glance at the old planes should be enough to discourage you. Surely it is better to fly on an airline with extensive experience in the industry...and newer equipment! They always refused to fly 12 Go, although know friends who did..

In conclusion, I'd be happy with Air Asia.

On another note, I've now found Gecko Villa's site again: it's at http://www.geckovilla.com

Have a good time in Chiang Rai: and don't forget to try a good dish of Khao Soi!

Hi: Did you stay in Udon Thani itself? I was actually thinking of visiting there during my next trip to Thailand in summer 2008. If you did go to that city, do you have any hotel recommendations? Thanks.

Udon has some reasonable 3 star, $30-50, Charoensri Grand , Ban Napalai and Charoen Hotel, these are concrete block hotels in the city.
There are nice places away from the city.

I am planning a tip to Thailand in July 2008. Is there a cheap way to get from chicago or saint louis airports to Bankok then to Phuket island.

Also, is it true you can only stay in the country for 1 month then you have to cross the border and come back in?

I was thinking of 1 month in Phuket and 1 month somewhere in Cambodia then go back and fly out of Bankok.

tks

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